Mexico: Profiles of individuals targeted and tracked by criminal organizations and cartels; tracking methods and motivations of criminal groups and cartels to track individuals (2021–August 2023)
1. Overview
Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022, which "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries," indicates that drug cartels are "very strong," or in control of "most" the state, in Guerrero, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Veracruz, Quintana Roo, Chihuahua, and Jalisco (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 2, 6). According to a 2023 annual report by Freedom House, Mexicans face the risk of violence from various sources, such as individual criminals and criminal gangs "that operate with impunity" (2023-03-09, Sec. F3). The same report states that while there are no official barriers to open discussion, fear of criminal surveillance limits public conversation about crime in some areas of the country (2023-03-09, Sec. D4).
2. Tracking Methods
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a retired professor from the University of Alberta who specializes in Mexican organized crime groups indicated that for individuals targeted by criminal groups, relocating within Mexico "is next to impossible" as the presence of organized crime groups "is extensive and found in every state" (2023-08-14). The same source stated that when it comes to tracking targets there is no organized framework put in place; methods used to track targets might not be "obvious" (Retired professor 2023-08-14). The same source noted that social media is used in identifying the location of targets, and represents a "major threat" of exposure (Retired professor 2023-08-14).
In an interview with the Research Directorate, a managing editor at Mexico Violence Resource Project [1] stated that there are "systems of local surveillance" by people who get paid for the information they provide (2023-08-17). According to the retired professor, criminal groups in Mexico depend on "street-level" informants to serve as the "eyes and ears of the organization"; word of mouth is a "powerful" tool used by criminal groups to track individuals (2023-08-14). In an interview with the Research Directorate, a full-time researcher at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, whose work focuses on transnational organized crime and the criminal economy in Mexico, stated that criminal groups will "to varying degrees" track individuals starting with their internal networks and community intelligence, and, as a "next step," engaging their armed wing to search for their intended targets (2023-08-14).
In an interview with the Research Directorate, an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Montreal indicated that tracking individuals is "incidental," as the necessary infrastructure is already established on roadways and ports of entry, enabling the identification of tracked individuals when they travel through any of the monitored locations (2023-08-15). The same source added that "it is not always active pinpointing of their targets, but more like they have a pervasive infrastructure in place to catch all comings and goings" (Assistant Professor 2023-08-15). The 2023 Freedom House report notes that criminals have the ability to interfere with the freedom of movement of individuals who try to relocate by setting up road blockades on major roads in multiple states (2023-03-09, Sec. G1).
For information on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, CJNG), including its ability and motivations to track and retaliate against individuals, as well as profiles of individuals targeted, see Response to Information Request MEX201603 of August 2023.
3. Profiles of Individuals Targeted and Tracked by Criminal Organizations and Cartels
In an interview with the Research Directorate, a professor at George Mason University specializing in Mexico-US relations and organized crime stated that there are a "variety" of "very complex" criminal groups which engage and specialize in a number of different activities, and "in this very extended realm of activities there are many people who are targeted by these groups, but we need to classify the involvement or even the targeting of these people" (2023-08-14). According to the Professor, individuals who can become targets for criminal networks include, but are not limited to, those who have involvement with the criminal group or the activities of that group and subsequently become "unwanted" to the organization, family members of those who have a connection with the criminal group, and victims of extortion who stop paying extortion fees (2023-08-14). The same source added that "[t]hese are generalizations made by observations, but at the end of the day it is case by case" (Professor 2023-08-14).
3.1 Migrants
According to a report by InSight Crime, a media organization and think tank focused on organized crime in the Americas (InSight Crime n.d.), US immigration policies have led to a "bottleneck" in which migrants congregate at the US-Mexico border, where they are "highly vulnerable" to extortion and kidnapping (2023-06, 5). An investigative article by the same source, on kidnappings of migrants, reports that US policies such as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) [2] have increased the risks migrants face, including death, disappearances, and kidnappings in "isolated" areas dominated by criminal groups at the US-Mexico border (2023-06-28). According to the 2023 Freedom House report, organized criminal groups are "heavily involved in human trafficking" from Mexico to the US; the situation worsened after 2019 due to the US denying entry to migrants and the impacts of the pandemic, placing migrants in "dangerous" cities close to the US border (Freedom House 2023-03-09, G4).
According to the InSight Crime report, organized crime groups have expanded their involvement in migrant smuggling with "some" criminal groups managing temporary migrant shelters, charging migrants a "tax" to cross their territories, hiring their own smugglers, or employing scouts to seek out potential "clients" in shelters (InSight Crime 2023-06-28). Noticias Telemundo, a US-based Spanish-language news provider (Noticias Telemundo n.d.), citing Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, CNDH), states that criminal groups view the "kidnapping and extortion" of irregular migrants as a way of making money (Noticias Telemundo 2021-09-30). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022 indicates that criminal organizations recruit migrants to carry out illegal activities (US 2023-03-20, 41). The Professor stated that one way for crime networks to obtain information on migrants is to infiltrate migrant shelters; when the criminal organization has kidnapped the migrant, that information can then be used for extorting the migrant's family (2023-08-14).
3.2 Farmers
An article published by La Jornada, a Mexican newspaper, reports that according to the Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, threats and interference from organized crime groups have led to a reduction in crop production and harvests going to waste in Michoacán state (La Jornada 2021-12-09). According to an article by Reforma, a Mexico-based newspaper, citing anonymous lime growers in the state of Michoacán, criminal groups will ask for "'quotas'" at each state of the production process, including [translation] "'from the cutters, the landowners, the packers, [and] the transporters'"; the extortion began in 2011 from the cartel La Familia Michoacana (Reforma 2022-01-24). An article by Noticieros Televisa, a Mexico-based news source, cites a displaced lime grower in Michoacán as stating that they and their family were thrown off their land [by cartels], who took their houses, tractors and cattle and looted their orchards (2022-01-21).
3.3 Police
The retired professor stated that municipal and state police are "always in danger" of witnessing illicit activities "that they should not have seen" or "in danger" because they resist directives from local criminal groups, to, for example, "look the other way, pass along information about investigations or patrol patterns, etc." (2023-08-14). An article by InSight Crime reports that in the first quarter of 2022, 16 police officers were killed in the state of Zacatecas; the article notes that the rise in police killings can be attributed to "the ongoing turf war ravaging Zacatecas and the state's inability to protect its forces" (2022-04-04). Another article by InSight Crime reporting on an ambush that led to the death of 13 police officers, states that attacks on authorities are becoming "commonplace," in particular "where criminal groups are trying to maintain control of disputed territory" (2021-03-24).
3.4 Volunteer Searchers
According to sources, volunteer searchers for missing individuals face various obstacles when conducting searches and have become targets for organized crime (InSight Crime 2022-11-04; AP 2023-07-12). An InSight Crime report indicates that volunteer search groups made up of individuals with missing relatives work independently from government support, despite being promised aid and protection by the state (Insight Crime 2022-11-04). The same report states that, as of November 2022, five [translation] "searching mothers" (madres buscadoras) have been killed in their search for missing relatives (InSight Crime 2022-11-04). According to La-Lista, an independent Mexican news organization with affiliations to the Guardian newspaper (La-Lista n.d.), a group of searchers in Sinaloa disbanded after one of their members was [translation] "murdered" (La-Lista 2022-10-19). The same source notes that the need to find a missing family member has led people to create collectives who conduct searches in zones likely monitored by those responsible for their relatives' disappearances (La-Lista 2022-10-19).
An article by the Associated Press (AP) reported on a roadway bomb planted by a cartel, killing four police officers and two civilians (AP 2023-07-12). The article states that police were escorting a volunteer search team who had received an anonymous tip about a potential burial site (AP 2023-07-12). The same source adds that following this incident, the governor of Jalisco state announced the "temporar[y] suspen[sion of] police escorts for volunteer searches for the safety of the civilians" (AP 2023-07-12). According to the article, the motives behind the killings are not evident, but activists note that cartels attempt to "intimidate" searchers, particularly if they are looking into a burial location currently in use (AP 2023-07-12).
3.5 Journalists
According to multiple sources, journalists in Mexico risk death due to their work (Amnesty International 2023-03-27, 251; Freedom House 2023-03-09, Sec. D1; Retired professor 2023-08-14). The 2023 Freedom House report states that criminal groups use threats and aggression against bloggers and journalists who cover organized crime activities (2023-03-09, Sec. D1). BTI 2022 notes that, "[r]eporting on certain topics (e.g., crime, drugs, and the relation between politics and drug-trafficking) is very risky if not impossible in some states or localities controlled by cartels" (2022, 10). The same source states that organized crime groups "have either killed or enabled other actors to kill social leaders and journalists" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 35).
A 2022 annual report by Freedom House notes seven deaths of reporters and "hundreds of threats and attacks attributed to organized crime groups, political officials, and various other actors" as of November 2021 (2022-02-24, Key Developments in 2021). According to a report by Amnesty International concerning the events of 2022, "[a]t least 13 journalists were killed with a possible connection to their work" (2023-03-27, 251). The Human Rights Watch (HRW) annual report states that 15 journalists were killed from January to September of 2022 (HRW 2023-01-12, 415). Article 19, an independent human rights organization working on freedom of expression and access to information (Article 19 n.d.), reports 331 instances of attacks against journalists and media outlets between January and June 2022 (2022-08-18, 3).
According to US Country Reports 2022, two journalists who reported on migration matters left Mexico because of threats to their lives, both having been "repeated[ly]" threatened by individuals claiming to be affiliated with a cartel (US 2023-03-20, 14). The same source adds that, "[t]he threat against journalists by criminal groups was particularly high in the states of Guerrero, Sonora, Veracruz, and Michoacán" (US 2023-03-20, 17).
3.6 Politicians
BTI 2022 reports the following:
[T]he threat to democracy from organized crime is serious, with candidates and elected officials, as well as social activists, being assassinated. In some regions controlled by drug cartels, many local elected officials and police agencies are under their command. In the same regions, the judiciary is also under their power. (2022, 13)
The report adds that criminal groups have killed "dozens" of elected officials at the local level across different regions in Mexico and killed candidates during the last election (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 35).
According to Freedom House, although criminal groups are becoming more divided, they continue to "exert powerful influence" over the country's political landscape through the use of "threats and violence" towards candidates and electoral staff, especially in local settings (2022, Sec. B3). Freedom House also states that organized crime groups make efforts to "infiltrate local governments" to extract municipal funds and secure impunity (2023-03-09, Sec. C1). The same source adds that in "the most violent regions," delivering public services has grown challenging due to public sector workers encountering "extortion and pressure to divert public funds" (Freedom House 2023-03-09, Sec. C1).
3.7 Human Rights Defenders
Information on the treatment of human rights defenders by criminal groups was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
HRW reports that human rights defenders who uncover the work of criminal groups "face attacks, harassment, and surveillance" (2023, 415).
3.8 Indigenous Communities
InSight Crime notes that in remote areas of the country, local criminal groups consistently and "systematic[ally] oppres[s]" Indigenous communities (2022-05-13). According to US Country Reports 2022, criminals engaged in drug trafficking and illegal logging have recruited and abducted members of Indigenous communities who live in remote areas, making them engage in "illicit activities," withholding their earnings, and "often" threatening them with death if they attempt to escape (2023-03-20, 41-42).
Freedom House reports that due to the "particular danger" faced by Indigenous communities from criminal activities, regions in Guerrero and Michoacán have seen an emergence in self-defence groups, with "some" gaining legal status; the surge in threats and violent acts by organized crime towards Indigenous populations in 2021 led to an increase in the establishment of such self-defence groups in Chiapas (Freedom House 2022-02-24, Sec. F4).
An article by InSight Crime reported on "a series of murders and disappearances" which occurred in Indigenous communities in the state of Michoacán and were linked to "the Jalisco Cartel New Generation's attempts to increase its control of illegal mining" (2023-01-27). InSight Crime, citing a Facebook post made by members of the Nahua Indigenous community, notes that the group expressed their frustration over the absence of government assistance in addressing organized crime in the region (2023-01-27).
3.9 Individuals Connected to Criminal Groups
According to the Professor, individuals who are directly associated with the criminal activities of an organization, or who are members of the organization, can be targeted, arising from internal conflicts or when factions within the group splinter off, turning "partners" into "enemies" (2023-08-14).
Further, sources report that family members of those involved with criminal groups risk being targeted (Retired professor 2023-08-14; Professor 2023-08-14). The retired professor stated that the relatives of members of criminal groups are at risk of being targeted, either as a means for these groups to send a message to a rival group or because cartel leaders "want to eliminate any chance of 'loose lips'" (2023-08-14).
3.10 Other Profiles
The Managing Editor noted that other profiles that are of interest to criminal groups include doctors "with some regularity…when their service is need" and chemists "for the purpose of creating synthesized drugs" (2023-08-17). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
The retired professor indicated that lawyers are "frequently" targeted by criminal groups who seek out their services, for example to "mediate money laundering practices" (2023-08-14). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
4. Motivation of Criminal Groups to Track Individuals
According to the retired professor, "[a]nyone who poses a threat to the business of a cartel will be targeted," adding that essentially anyone capable of recognizing a member of the cartel is a threat to that cartel member (2023-08-14). The retired professor noted that depending on the occupation, some might be at greater risk of being targeted by a cartel (2023-08-14).
The Managing Editor stated that in most instances, the primary goal is to assert the power of the criminal group, ensuring that the group appears to have the capacity to enforce the threats that it makes (2023-08-17). The Managing Editor noted that the capacity to follow through on threats varies by crime group (2023-08-17). According to the same source, criminal organizations that engage in extortion have a "strong incentive to make sure the act of violence that they threaten is carried through"; however, the "motivation and capacity to follow through are different things" (2023-08-17). The same source added:
None of this is to say that the fear is not credible, because the caveat is that you don't know what the group's capacity is until it is too late, so you can say that it is not likely that the criminal group will follow through on the threat, but you don't know that for sure. The reason the fear is credible is that nobody except the criminal group itself knows what their capacity is. (Managing Editor 2023-08-17)
The Professor stated that "there is no single model" when it comes to tracking targets, "[i]t depends on the circumstances and the actors that operate in a specific territory and against the specific actor, or group of actors" (2023-08-14). The Professor added that organized crime networks will make a "cost-benefit" analysis to decide whether to track an individual (2023-08-14). The same source stated that criminal groups will not typically track individuals for unpaid extortion fees, or if the target decides to flee the country, unless the group perceives a substantial monetary gain, or when an individual possesses "too much" knowledge about the group's operations; in such cases, the group may invest resources in tracking the target (Professor 2023-08-14).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Notes
[1] The Mexico Violence Resource Project, which is housed at the Center for US-Mexican studies at the University of California San Diego, facilitates dialogue and produces publications and data on crime and violence in Mexico (Mexico Violence Resource Project n.d.).
[2] Launched in January 2019, the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) [also known as Remain in Mexico] is a US government program that "returns to Mexico certain citizens and nationals of countries other than Mexico while their U.S. removal proceedings are pending. MPP applies to those who arrive from Mexico by land" (US 2022-11-01). On 8 August 2022, the "Northern District of Texas lifted the injunction that required [the Department of Homeland Security] to reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) in good faith" (US 2022-11-01).
References
Amnesty International. 2023-03-27. "Mexico." Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World's Human Rights. [Accessed 2023-08-25]
Article 19. 2022-08-18. La impunidad y negación ante la violencia extrema contra la prensa persiste: Primer semestre de 2022. [Accessed 2023-08-03]
Article 19. N.d. "Sobre ARTICLE 19 MX-CA." [Accessed 2023-08-29]
Assistant Professor, University of Montreal. 2023-08-15. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Associated Press (AP). 2023-07-12. Mark Stevenson. "Roadway Bombs Planted by Drug Cartel in Mexico Kill 4 Police Officers, 2 Civilians." [Accessed 2023-08-01]
Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2022. "Mexico Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022. [Accessed 2023-08-01]
Freedom House. 2023-03-09. "Mexico." Freedom in the World 2023. [Accessed 2023-08-25]
Freedom House. 2022-02-24. "Mexico." Freedom in the World 2022. [Accessed 2023-08-04]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2023-01-12. "Mexico." World Report 2023: Events of 2022. [Accessed 2023-08-01]
InSight Crime. 2023-06-28. Parker Asmann. "Does US Policy Exacerbate Migrant Kidnappings on the US-Mexico Border?" [Accessed 2023-08-09]
InSight Crime. 2023-06. Steven Dudley, Parker Asmann & Victoria Dittmar. Unintended Consequences: How US Immigration Policy Foments Organized Crime on the US-Mexico Border. [Accessed 2023-08-23]
InSight Crime. 2023-01-27. Yago Rosado. "CJNG Control of Illegal Mining in Michoacán, Mexico, Claiming Indigenous Lives". [Accessed 2023-08-09]
InSight Crime. 2022-11-04. Raquel Balletin. "Facing Death and Dismissal, Mexico's Mothers Keep Searching." [Accessed 2023-08-09]
InSight Crime. 2022-05-13. Henry Shuldiner. "Indigenous Communities in Rural Mexico Get No Help Against Constant Criminal Threats." [Accessed 2023-08-09]
InSight Crime. 2022-04-04. Vera Sistermans. "Police Killings Spike amid Soaring Violence in Zacatecas, Mexico." [Accessed 2023-08-25]
InSight Crime. 2021-03-24. Max Radwin. "Deadly Ambush of 13 Police Meets Little Government Response in Mexico." [Accessed 2023-08-25]
InSight Crime. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 2023-09-01]
La Jornada. 2021-12-09. Ernesto Martínez Elorriaga. "Abandonan cultivos en Michoacán por temor a criminales." [Accessed 2023-07-27]
La-Lista. 2022-10-19. Luz Rangel. "'¿Es para callarnos?' Colectivos enfrentan el miedo tras el asesinato de buscadoras." [Accessed 2023-08-14]
La-Lista. N.d. "Quiénes somos." [Accessed 2023-08-14]
Managing Editor, Mexico Violence Resource Project. 2023-08-17. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Mexico Violence Resource Project. N.d. "About." [Accessed 2023-08-25]
Noticias Telemundo. 2021-09-30. Aldo Meza. "Pensé que Los Zetas me iban a matar'. Este es el mapa de los cárteles que secuestran migrantes en México." [Accessed 2023-07-27]
Noticias Telemundo. N.d. "About." YouTube. [Accessed 2023-08-29]
Noticieros Televisa. 2022-01-21. Laura Nancy López de Rivera Hinojosa. "Limoneros de Michoacán atribuyen escasez a disputa territorial entre CJNG y Cárteles Unidos." [Accessed 2023-08-15]
Professor, George Mason University. 2023-08-14. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Reforma. 2022-01-24. "Encarecen limón ¡los criminales!". [Accessed 2023-08-14]
Researcher, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. 2023-08-14. Interview with the Research Directorate.
Retired professor, University of Alberta. 2023-08-14. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.
United States (US). 2023-03-20. Department of State. "Mexico." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022. [Accessed 2023-08-03]
United States (US). 2022-11-02. Department of Homeland Security. "Court Ordered Reimplementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols." [Accessed 2023-08-25]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Assistant professor at an American university who specializes in cartels, gangs, and drug violence in Mexico; Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime; independent researcher who specializes in organized crime in Mexico and Colombia; International Crisis Group; Washington Office on Latin America; Wilson Center.
Internet sites, including: Austrian Red Cross – ecoi.net; Axios; British Journal of Political Science; Brookings Institution; Causa en Común; Center for Strategic and International Studies; Council on Foreign Relations; The Crime Report; CTV News; Desert Sun; El Sol de Zacatecas; Euro ES Euro; Foreign Policy; The Guardian; The Hill; Institute for Economics & Peace; Just Security; Letra ESE; Los Angeles Times; Milenio; The New Humanitarian; Queer Here; Radio Zapote; Reuters; US – Congressional Research Service; Washington Office on Latin America.