The News
Tuesday 19 of March 2024

Crime Watch: 2017 The Most Violent Year for Mexico


Santiago Noel Rodríguez, founder of National Crime Watch during a press conference in Mexico City Mexico, July 25, 2017,photo: Cuartoscuro/ Diego Somón Sánchez
Santiago Noel Rodríguez, founder of National Crime Watch during a press conference in Mexico City Mexico, July 25, 2017,photo: Cuartoscuro/ Diego Somón Sánchez
The states with the highest homicide rates are Colima, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Baja California, Sinaloa and Chihuahua

Santiago Roel Rodríguez, founder of the National Crime Watch project, said that President Enrique Peña Nieto’s 2017 will become the most violent year yet, surpassing former President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa’s 2011.

Peña Nieto’s 2017 is a record breaker with more that 12,000 homicides in the first semester and 88 percent of Mexicans who disapprove of his lack of action.

“Homicide rates are higher than ever. Every month there are 2,000 homicides reported in the country,” said Roel Rodríguez.

The states with the highest homicide rates are Colima, Guerrero, Baja California Sur, Baja California, Sinaloa and Chihuahua; 70 percent of homicides in these states are related to organized crime.

Roel Rodríguez said that “the Mérida initiative is responsible for major acts of violence,” and that government officials tend to minimize the situation.

“The problem is not the severity of the situation, but rather the refusal of the authorities to admit the problem and instead choosing to turn a blind eye to the situation,” said Roel Rodríguez.