As Spring Break approached, Mexico saw an increase of cartel violence, creating financial uncertainty as tourism brings an estimated 8.7% of the countries total GDP. On February 22nd, Mexico’s most wanted man, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, died in custody after being captured during a violent firefight in Jalisco. Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo praised the forces who “brought down” Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
Shortly after Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho” passed away, cartel violence skyrocketed, with the most dangerous instances in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ciudad Guzmán, and Tijuana.
On February 24th public transportation, the municipal government, and schools across the state reopened. At the same time Puerto Vallarta commercial flights resumed and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico lifted their shelter-in-place but ordered a curfew to be maintained for government staff, though the curfew was lifted the next day.
This violence has caused large issues for Mexico as it leaves the most tourist filled areas undesireable. Mexico’s economy largely depends on tourism so the government deployed thousands of troops to bring peace, dissuade from violence, and express how serious security is being maintained.
Though citizens ran into check points of every street corner, the homicides weren’t slowing down. At the time there were more police officers than soldiers and that felt as though there was more security.
Continuing cartel violence not only causes death rates to increase but missing persons increasing as well.
“Sinaloa cartel was like a family. Everyone was united in a single cartel. They were friends, they ate at the same table,’” Héctor Torres, a paramedic in Mexico, said in an interview with BBC. “‘They were like brothers –parents, uncles, sisters – and suddenly they were fighting… and locked in a deadly feud.’”
This family business was a billion dollar enterprise that produced and spread fentanyl and opioids to the streets in the U.S. which has cost thousands of lives. This prompted president Donald Trump to label the cartel, and others, to be terrorist organizations, and declared fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. In his statement he threatened Mexico with direct military action if the violence from drug traffickers does not get under control.
