President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has called on Mexican drug cartels to stop handing out packages of food and essential supplies to the country’s poorest citizens during the current health emergency.
For several weeks, cartel members and their followers have been distributing boxes or packages stamped with the logos of the respective cartel in various parts of the country, including Guadalajara.
The president said the intervention of criminal organizations was “unhelpful” and that ending their violent behavior would benefit the nation far more.
Many analysts believe criminal organizations in Mexico will use the health crisis and economic downturn to consolidate – and expand – their presence in communities where they already wield significant influence over local governments.
The cartels are keen to be seen as “Good Samaritans” and the “saviors” of Mexico’s marginalized population.
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.
{show access="registered" trim="true"}
Last week, a video was posted on the El Chapo Guzman Facebook page showing Alejandrina Guzmán, the daughter of jailed drug capo Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel, and other women packing food and supplies into boxes for distribution to needy seniors in the Guadalajara metropolitan area.
The cardboard boxes bore a stenciled image of her famous father, who is serving a life sentence in the United States. A male voice over explained that the “Chapo despensas” are “just a grain in the sand” to help the Covid-19 relief effort.
Reports suggest the boxes were prepared at a warehouse belonging to Alejandrina Guzmán’s clothing company, “El Chapo 701,” which takes its name from a former Forbes list that ranked her father as the 701st richest person in the world.Shortly after the video went up, further images were posted showing Alejandrina Guzmán and other women handing out the boxes, which also included face masks and hand sanitizers, to elderly people in Guadalajara neighborhoods.
Other videos posted online also show despensas being handed out by drug cartel operatives, including members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Despite the health crisis and calls for people to stay at home, criminal organizations have not put their territorial squabbles on hold. Mexico registered 2,585 homicides in March, a new monthly record.
Lopez Obrador took office promising new social programs and jobs to discourage Mexicans from joining the cartels. But with hundreds of thousands of people set to become jobless because of the Covid-19 economic fallout, the cartels may find themselves with an endless supply of recruits – a scenario that is likely to provoke a further escalation in the cartels’ violent territorial battles.