Seven cartels fight to control Guanajuato after El Marro’s arrest

Several drug cartels have engaged in a turf war to control Guanajuato , a state once controlled by José Antonio Yépez, aka “El Marro,” the former leader of the bloody Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.

According to security experts, the war to control the territory and the financial crisis at criminal organizations have fueled massacres and extortion .

The Intelligence Department at the local Attorney General’s Office identified at least seven criminal groups operating Guanajuato: Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, Cárteles Unidos, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and Unión León.

Jessica María Vega Zayas, a researcher at the University of Guanajuato, said the state is experiencing a “lot of tension” as a result of the war between the CJNG and what is left of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, as well as feuds with small crime groups to control the territories previously controlled by “El Marro.”

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“El Marro” is accused of fuel theft and trafficking, as well as extortion, drug trafficking, and homicide. Until his arrest on August 2, Yépez Ortiz engaged in a deadly turf war against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

During the first 40 days after his arrest, the state registered 448 homicides, around 11 per day. Between January and July 2020, around 20 people were murdered every day. Furthermore, a report released by Executive Secretariat under the National Public Security System (SESNSP) showed Mexicans reported 4,242 homicides and 11 extortions between January and July 2020.

In a report issued by the Guanajuato Congress in June, the local Security Minister, Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, said 91% of the homicides registered in the state were the result of a turf war between drug cartels . Moreover, the crimes are also linked to drug trafficking and fuel theft.

Extortions will continue

Vega Zayas believes violent crimes and extortions will continue for some time. Furthermore, criminal organizations use extortion as a source of income to fund their turf wars.

According to the expert, “now extortions will continue in Celaya, Salamanca, Irapuato, and Silao, which are territories previously controlled by the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. [Extortions] will reach San Miguel de Allende and León, where deaths and disappearances will continue.”

Thirteen months after a mass shutdown of tortilla shops in Celaya due to extortion, the phenomenon repeated in markets located in Tomasa Esteves and Barahona, in Salamanca, where shopkeepers halted activities on September 7.

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A shopkeeper said two criminal organizations threatened and demanded fees that were impossible to pay for them. On September 3 and 4, criminals killed two butchers and a shopkeeper.

Vega Zayas considers that perhaps by the end of 2021, Guanajuato will register a decrease in violent deaths, extortions, and enforced disappearances, when a criminal organization or authorities control the territory.

Reinforcing security

Now that the state government is experiencing a critical situation regarding public security, it asked the federal government to deploy the National Guard; however, it doesn’t know the territory, in contrast with criminal groups.

The researcher emphasized the importance of investing in intelligence and creating and implementing efficient strategies since it has been impossible to obtain key information because of the lack of cooperation between each administration.

The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel plans its return

Vega Zayas warned that violence will prevail in Guanajuato because, despite El Marro’s arrest, the local cartel has smaller groups that produced new leaders. Moreover, she explained a new war will begin soon, as in the case of criminal organizations in countries like Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Brazil.

The expert said that “the fact that they arrested the leader of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel doesn’t mean that the situation will disappear. It’s not a matter of magic because groups control territories and then the issue is the fight to control small areas.”

She also mentioned that the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel is looking to rebuild itself and that it continues to fight the CJNG.

“Now it’s a time of fights between different small groups (…) to dominate the territories or impose their conditions, at least to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,” the researcher said.

Based on recent investigations, Vega Zayas explained Los Caballeros Templarios are looking to control areas in southern Guanajuato.

Meanwhile, La Unión León aims to control the northern area. Although this criminal organization is not very powerful, it will try to negotiate and engage in new wars.

Moreover, the security expert said the surge in deaths is linked to the number of gunmen the cartels are willing to lose in the turf wars.

The university researcher concluded the Guanajuato government has no control over these groups. She said, “it got out of hand, it can’t predict what is going to happen with them.”

The expert emphasized said it is likely that the CJNG will dominate Guanajuato.

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