Chihuahua.— During an event that took place at the facilities of the V Military Zone last Monday, the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) presented a criminal x-ray to the three state powers through which it exposes a list of criminal objectives of the northwest area, as well as their relationship with civil authorities.
The president of the State Congress, Deputy Adriana Terrazas Porras, described the meeting, held in the framework of the consultation of the Comprehensive Reform of the Political Constitution of Chihuahua, as shocking, since it reflects the criminal reality of the state.
In the presentation of the document entitled “United for Juárez, Chihuahua and Cuauhtémoc”, the military leaders mentioned criminal objectives of Nuevo Casas Grandes such as Ricardo González Toalá, alias “El 05” and/or “El Chicharrón”, former director of Public Security of said municipality, and current member of the criminal group “Los Cholos”, related to the “New Juárez Cartel”, according to military intelligence.
They also publicized the case of Higinio Solís González, director of Public Security in the municipality of Janos, who according to investigations maintains links with organized crime groups and murdered a citizen on March 22 who filed a complaint against him for theft of a private vehicle.
They highlighted the identification of Lorenzo Gallegos Rodelo, alias “El Grillo”, leader of the criminal group “La Línea”, related to the “Nuevo Cártel de Juárez” in the municipalities of Buenaventura and Ahumada, who despite having arrest warrants for association criminal and organized crime, has managed to escape the action of justice.
The military forces also reported on the clashes that took place in Mineral de Dolores between the “La Línea” and “Gente Nueva del Jaguar” groups during February and March 2023, as well as the location of five male bodies in El Largo Maderal on March 8, 2023.
According to classified information, the militia detected intense problems of illegal logging of pine and oak trees in Bocoyna, Guerrero, Ocampo, Madera, Balleza, Guadalupe y Calvo, Guazapares, Temósachic, Urique and Uriachi; the foregoing because of the criminal groups “La Línea and “Gente Nueva del Cártel del Pacífico” that take advantage of the theft of wood and the installation of clandestine sawmills to obtain economic resources that solve their criminal activities.
The full document of the presentation was provided to the representatives of the powers. The action plan proposes to the State Congress a series of legislative reforms in view of the criminal incidence of the entity. The issue was referred to the Political Coordination Board (Jucopo) for the corresponding study and analysis.
intentional murders
Chihuahua has three cities on the list of the 50 priority municipalities with the highest concentration of intentional homicides, with Juárez in third place, Chihuahua in 17th place and Cuauhtémoc in 30th place.
During the current state administration, the authorities recognize 3,333 murders: from September to December 2021, 737 occurred, during 2022, 955, and up to the middle of the fourth month of 2023, a total of 641.
In the first quarter of 2023, the intentional homicide indicators increased 20.44 percent compared to the same period last year; During January, February and March 2022, the authorities registered 454 murders in the state, while in said period of 2023 there were 571. March 2023 was the most violent month during the current administration, with 208 violent deaths.
Increased drug use
According to official statistics from the Federation, in the state of Chihuahua 437,799 people are addicted to some drug, a figure equivalent to 11.69 percent of the total population in the state.
Within the universe of people who have addictions, 45.9 percent have an addiction to marijuana, 21.8 percent to methamphetamines, 10.3 to cocaine, 10.3 to heroin, 5.5 to benzodiazepines, 3.2 to crack, 1.4 to fentanyl, 1.1 to inhalant drugs and 0.5 percent to ecstasy.
From January 2022 to March 2023, 79 people died in the state from overdoses, derived from drug use, and 61 of these deaths occurred in the municipality of Chihuahua.
The report details that 9 overdose deaths occurred in the municipality of Juárez and the remaining nine in different regions.
As a warning, they highlighted the case of a 25-year-old man who died last March 3 in a private hospital in the city of Chihuahua due to the use of fentanyl, a drug that is gradually advancing as a public health problem.
fuel theft
From August 2022 to May 2023, the authorities discovered 36 clandestine hydrocarbon intakes on state territory, an activity through which organized crime finds another source of financing.
The clandestine intakes correspond to pipelines 10 that correspond to Gómez Palacios-Chihuahua and 12, corresponding to Chihuahua to Ciudad Juárez.
The main problem is concentrated in pipeline 12, in the section of the Villa Ahumada community, whose clandestine intakes were discovered by parastatal personnel through walking and motorized tours.
‘United by Juárez, Chihuahua and Cuauhtémoc’
Problems in the State of Chihuahua
Janos Township
Feb. 2023. Juan Carlos Rodríguez Tarín filed a complaint for the theft of his private vehicle against C. Higinio Solís González, director of Municipal Public Security of Janos, Chih.
Ma. 22, 2023. Rodríguez Tarín was attacked with firearm shots losing his life, indicated as likely responsible the director of Public Security, which maintains links with organized crime.
Buenaventura Municipality
Lorenzo Gallegos (a) “El Grillo” has been identified, leader of the criminal group “La Linea”, related to the “Nuevo Cártel de Juárez”, in the municipalities of Buenaventura and Ahumada, who has an arrest warrant for the crime of criminal association and organized crime. Operations have been carried out to capture him, however, he has managed to escape.
Ahumada Municipality
Apr 5 2022. FGE personnel rescued 73 migrants of different nationalities who were traveling overcrowded in two pickup-type vehicles, arresting 3 men for the crime of human trafficking. This municipality has been detected as a strategic point on the route of human trafficking, where they are housed and later transferred to Cd. Juárez and the Juárez Valley to cross the border with the USA
