This article translated and reposted from Milenio.
As part of the fight against organized crime, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) has accelerated the seizure of “narco properties.” While in the previous administration, around 500 ranches or properties were confiscated throughout the six-year term, the current administration has already seized nearly 2,000 properties in the first four years.
According to information obtained through the National Transparency Platform, SEDENA reported to Milenio that during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government, 1,968 properties, plots of land, or ranches linked to different criminal organizations have been seized. These properties have already been handed over to the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR).
In contrast, during Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration, 555 “narco properties” were disposed of. The majority of seizures occurred in Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Guanajuato, and Sonora, which were not prioritized to the same extent in the current administration.
Significant seizures have taken place in the border region, the Bajío area, and the central part of the country. In Baja California, particularly in cities such as Tijuana, Mexicali, and Ensenada, 497 properties, 26 plots of land, and three ranches were seized. This northern state is strategically important in the fight against organized crime due to its proximity to the states of Arizona and Texas, where a significant portion of drug and human trafficking occurs, in addition to being a migratory route to Los Angeles, California.
However, Baja California is not the only region affected; Tamaulipas, a state on the border, saw the seizure of 12 properties and one plot of land. The Mexican Army has also worked intensively against organized crime in Guanajuato, where 230 properties, 11 plots of land, and one ranch were seized. This region has become a hotbed of violence due to the expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The criminal organization found a fertile territory for illicit activities after the arrest of José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, also known as “El Marro,” the former powerful leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. The influence of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has been significantly reduced in municipalities such as Santa Rosa de Lima, Apaseo el Alto, Apaseo el Grande, Pénjamo, and even in Celaya, which was one of its strongholds.
Other notable seizures occurred in the highland regions. In Mexico City, 205 properties and three plots of land were dismantled, and members of organized crime were caught red-handed in some cases. In the State of Mexico, the military seized 79 properties and 14 plots of land.
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Some significant interventions took place in Sonora, with 205 seized properties (the same number as in the capital city), as well as 65 in Sinaloa and 61 in Colima. The Jalisco cartel had 57 properties seized, while Puebla saw 38 seizures.
The map showing the locations where criminal groups settle reveals some variations compared to the previous administration. During Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency, the states with the highest incidence of seizures were Tamaulipas with 99 seized properties, Sinaloa with 87, Guanajuato with 61, and Sonora with 52. Additionally, 38 “narco properties” were seized in Baja California, 28 in Jalisco, and 26 in Colima. Puebla, Chihuahua, and the State of Mexico had only a handful of seizures.
Not only properties but also vehicles.
The Army also provided a comparative table of the number of seized vehicles in recent years. From December 1, 2018, to January 1, 2023, a total of 29,587 vehicles were seized, which were used by organized crime but have already been handed over to the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR).
The states where SEDENA has made the most vehicle seizures against criminal gangs during the López Obrador administration are once again Guanajuato (3,745), Sonora (2,745), Michoacán (2,721), Tamaulipas (2,622), Jalisco (2,139), Puebla (2,038), Baja California (1,804), and Guerrero (1,178).
These numbers contrast with those in states like Yucatán, where the Army has seized only 20 vehicles throughout the entire administration, as well as Campeche, with only 73. These two states in the Yucatán Peninsula have not yet become heavily affected by organized crime groups.
In contrast, during Peña Nieto’s administration, the Army seized 55,567 vehicles, more than 16,000 more than what has been seized by SEDENA under López Obrador, which amounts to 39,500.
During the Peña Nieto period (2012-2018), Tamaulipas was the state where the most vehicles linked to organized crime were confiscated, with 12,510 seizures, nearly double the number in Puebla, which had 6,811 seizures. Michoacán had 4,618 seizures, while Sinaloa, Guanajuato, Guerrero, and Sonora ranged around 3,000 units, and Jalisco and Veracruz had just over 2,500 seizures.
Despite having the largest vehicle fleet in the country, the Army only seized one vehicle throughout the entire Peña Nieto administration in Mexico City. It was an almost negligible figure, even lower than the 15 vehicles with criminal ties that were reported in peaceful Yucatán.
Source: Milenio