New violence outbreaks

In Mexico , several generations have been scarred by the violence that has devastated cities like Juárez, Monterrey, Tijuana, and Culiacán for years. It was a period of bloody disputes between legendary drug lords, who are either dead or in prison today. In the middle were the authorities, without the capacity to fight the enemy fire, or even worse, they took part by supporting one of the criminal bands.

Violence

seemed never-ending but it stopped or decreased drastically in these areas; currently, the violence numbers are lower than the ones registered a decade ago. But the scenario just changed places; criminal groups moved, they moved to other territories, and installed themselves in places like Michoacán and Guerrero.

According to information published by EL UNIVERSAL today, in 2017 the violence map acquired new colors. Homicide numbers registered in Colima, Guanajuato, Baja California Sur , and Quintana Roo are higher than the national average. For example, Colima , from 2012 to 2017, went from 39 homicides to 113 for every 100,000 inhabitants, the highest number in the country. Although the biggest increase took place in Baja California , where 5 homicides were registered for every 100,000 inhabitants six years ago, and last year, the number increased to 91 per every 10,000 inhabitants.

Last year, 24 out of the 32 states had an increase in their crime rate , compared to 2016.

The country went through a violence wave over a decade ago. It was contained for a couple of years and it reemerged with more force, in different cities.

This expansion could be the evidence of a lack of a national strategy to contain organized crime . They start actions in the cities with a higher crime rate, they deploy federal forces and insecurity decreases only to emerge in other areas. If the strategy to fight crime had a national overview and immediate responsiveness, that wouldn't happen or they would be sporadic outbreaks and not a violence pattern.

The new insecurity spots didn't appear from one to another. 2018 has entered its final race and in the last 12 months strategies to attack the source of insecurity in Guanajuato or Colima haven't been announced.

The homicide numbers are announced every month, and they are a tool to notice important increases in crime. If the federal and local authorities don't use them to create specific strategies, they can forget about eradicating violence.

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