The murder of the drug trafficker ‘El Mencho’, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), at the hands of the Mexican Army, has unleashed a wave of violence in different parts of the country. The death of the boss is a strategic blow for the Government of Claudia Sheinbaum in its fight against drug trafficking and also has implications for the bilateral relationship with the United States.
During the day on Sunday, members of the CJNG blocked roads, set fire to gas stations and attacked bank branches in several states. The Mexican authorities assure that at this time 90% of the incidents have already been controlled. The governor of Jalisco has expressed his confidence that the worst “is already over” and has thanked the population for its behavior.
The Spanish Embassy in Mexico has recommended caution to Spanish citizens who are in the country. In More than one, Carlos Alsina has spoken with one of them, Ibai Azcuénaga, who is in Sayulita, a few kilometers from Puerto Vallarta, a city in the state of Jalisco whose prison has been attacked by drug traffickers.
Ibai explained that, although the situation has been able to be restored “more or less”, the hours following the news were of great tension. According to what he said, they realized the seriousness of the situation when three people from their group tried to take a bus from Sayulita to Puerto Vallarta and were informed that the road was closed, so they could not leave. At first they thought that it could be a specific disturbance of public order, but they soon found that the drug traffickers had erected blockades that prevented access to the main cities.
He highlighted the “uncertainty” experienced during those hours, in which they remained pending the evolution of events. Many businesses closed and tried to make “supply” purchases due to the possibility that the situation could last longer, he compared the frenzy of the situation with the first moments after the announcement of the quarantine due to Covid-19. According to what he said, practically all the establishments lowered their shutters, except for two taqueria stands.
Ibai has acknowledged that, although normality is beginning to return, they are still not clear about what may happen in the next few hours: they do not know “what is going to happen tomorrow.”
