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The cities of Fresnillo and Zacatecas have the highest levels of perceived insecurity, according to a report by the National Survey of Public Security (ENSU). In Fresnillo, 97.2% of the population perceives the city as insecure, while that figure is 90.4% in Zacatecas. After Zacatecas, Ciudad Obregón in Sonora, Irapuato in Guanajuato, Cuatitlán Izcalli in Mexico State and Colima in Colima follow the list. Countrywide, 67.4% of the population perceive their city to be unsafe, an increase from the 66.2% reported in March 2022.   On the contrary, the cities with the lowest perceptions of insecurity are: San Pedro Garza García (Nuevo León), Benito Juárez (CDMX), Tampico (Tamaulipas), Piedras Negras, Saltillo (both in Coahuila) and Los Cabos (Baja California Sur).   The ENSU is a survey by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The C@rtel de Sinal0a (C-D-S) factions of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, Ovidio “El Ratón” Guzmán - son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán - and Rafael Caro Quintero, are allegedly fighting for control of Mexico City, according to an intelligence report by the Secretary of Citizen Security (SSC) of Mexico City. The report is not clear if Caro Quintero's faction is part of the Cartel de Carborca.   The report, which was cited by El Universal, was prepared with data from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), and it alleges that the three factions are fighting to secure the sale and distribution of cocaine in the capital city - a shift from previous denials from Mexico City officials that no cartel had gained a foothold in the capital.   It adds that the arrest of 49 members of the different factions, including members ranging from cell heads to financial operators and drug dealers revealed that all three groups are in the city.   According to the report, the July 12 arrest of 14 members of Ovidio Guzman's faction in Topilejo, revealed that the cell has been operating in Mexico City for three months. The cell was reportedly kidnapping drug dealers in the area to turn them into sellers of their faction. The June 11, 2020 murder of Juan Antonio Valenzuela Ortiz, who trafficked drugs in Tijuana, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Los Angeles, California also revealed wars between the factions. He was murdered in room 3304 of the Intercontinental Hotel in Santa Fe. He was the nephew of Luis Gabriel Valenzuela and/or Julián Grimaldi Paredes, alleged logistics operator for El Mayo Zambada. A few months later, in January 2021, a white truck overturned on a major avenue in the capital, was transporting 1,200 kilograms of cocaine. Federal authorities attributed the shipment to Rafael Caro Quintero.   In early June of this year, following the arrest of six members of the Los Chapitos faction of the C-D-S in the city, the Mexico City Secretary of Citizen Security (SSC), Omar García Harfuch, claimed that "[The C-D-S] are not seeking territorial control of the area, they are not established as a criminal structure as such." Instead, Harfuch claimed the cartel was seeking safe houses. He added, "they did not sell drugs, no apparent crime was committed there other than the storage of large quantities of drugs and vehicles with secret compartments like the other three seizures." Within the last year, over 20 raids have been coordinated against cartel safe houses across the city.   However, factions of the C-D-S are not the only large cartel operating in the city. Evidence suggests that the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (C-J-N-G)  is also active in the capital.

The bodies of two men were discovered hanging from a bridge in San Marcos, Guerrero on Friday. The men had been bound by their hands and feet, and their heads had been covered. A banner, commonly referred to as a narcomanta, was left at the scene, in which "Comandante 18" claimed responsibility for the double homicide.   Comandante 18 has also claimed responsibility for the five bodies located inside a taxi on the highway of the Costa Chica region in Juchitán in early April. Three of the bodies had been beheaded, while the remaining two had been shot. The taxi was draped with a narcomanta, where "Comandante 18" claimed responsibility for the murders. Local reports suggest that one of the victims is likely the driver of the taxi.   The same group also claimed responsibility for the human head discovered in early July. The narcomanta was signed by Comandante 18, in support of Los Rusos, another criminal faction operating under the C@rtel de Sinal0a's faction of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. Los Rusos are also known to be linked to the Union of Peoples and Organizations of the State of Guerrero (UPOEG). The UPOEG is a self-proclaimed self-defense group, through the group operates closely with members of organized crime.

Crispín Reyes Pablo, a human rights activist for displaced families from the Guadalupe Victoria community, was murdered in San Juan Juquila Mixes, Oaxaca on Thursday. He is known for defending 128 families displaced from their homes in 2017.   According to local media, Reyes Pablo was attacked by unknown assailants at approximately 14:00 hours last Thursday as he cleaned a place near the Juquila Mixes community. The nature of the attack is not yet clear. Though the Defense for Human Rights of the People of Oaxaca (DDHPO) issued a statement stating that they believe his murder is related to his work as a defender of his local communities.   Reyes Pablo was involved in the defense of 527 residents who were forcibly removed from their homes in 2017 by residents of this same community. Local reports say the residents were members of a local armed group that had the support of the San Pedro Ocotepec authorities.   According to the DDHPO, between January 2015 and the first half of 2022, 272 investigations were initiated related to attacks against human rights defenders, of which 32% have to do with arbitrary detentions. The organization added that since 2019, 10 murders of human rights defenders were registered in Oaxaca, as well as two cases for the disappearance of defenders Claudia Uruchurtu and Irma Galindo.   According to numbers by the federal government, 99% of homicides of human rights defenders during the current administration have gone unpunished. The figures show that at least 67% of the homicides against defenders committed in the first three years of this administration were concentrated in six states: Guerrero (21); Oaxaca (14); Chihuahua (8); Chiapas (8); Veracruz (6), and Michoacán (6).

Fourteen were arrested and two police officers were injured following clashes between members of the C@rtel de Sinal0a (C-D-S) and officers of the Secretary of Citizen Security of Mexico City (SSC-CDMX) in Topilejo, Tlalpan, Mexico City today. Two kidnap victims were also rescued. The gunmen are members of Los Chapitos, the faction of C-D-S loyal to the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, specifically Ovidio Guzmán López,  known as "El Raton" or mouse.   The clashes occurred at kilometer 28 of the Mexico-Cuernavaca highway around 14:30 hours local time, after authorities arrived to secure a safe house in the San Andrés Totoltepec neighborhood. The joint operation involved more than 150 police officers, National Guard elements, and soldiers with armored trucks and helicopters. The gunmen reportedly opened fire as soon as the officers approached. Two officers were injured, one of whom is in critical condition.   Some of the gunmen reportedly fled into the neighboring woods. In total, 14 were arrested, and two kidnap victims were rescued.   Officers with the SSCCDMX and National Guard (GN) then deployed to the San Andrés Totoltepec neighborhood in the Tlalpan borough of Mexico City to reinforce the area.   Authorities reported that they seized 8 AR15s, 2 twelve-gauge shotguns, 1 50 caliber Barret semi-auto precision rifle, 1 Browning belt-fed M1919 machine gun, 1 M203 rail-mounted grenade launcher, 3 handguns, 4 ballistic vests, 2 helmets, 74 magazines, 12 40mm grenades, assorted ammunition, communication equipment and an undisclosed number of narcotics.   Cover 📸: Alfredo Domínguez