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1. Beyond Mexico’s criminal gangs: Hybrid violence in Puebla, Mexico, and Veracruz states

Author:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:
Since the beginning of 2024, reports of violent incidents targeting political figures have frequently made their way into the news in the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz. On 23 March, several armed men on motorcycles killed the mayoral candidate of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party running in Acatzingo municipality in Puebla, adding yet another victim to the list of candidates, current and former officials, relatives of politicians, and election officers who have been the targets of violence in recent months. These recent incidents are part of a repeated pattern of violence. Situated in central Mexico, the states of Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz feature among the eight most affected by violence targeting political figures since 2018.
Topic:
Crime, Politics, Assassination, Gangs, and Hybrid Violence
Political Geography:
Latin America and Mexico

2. Gang violence in the Caribbean reaches farther than Haiti

Author:
Sandra Pellegrini
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:
In recent years, Haiti has made headlines for unprecedented levels of gang violence, with gangs increasingly challenging state authorities and expanding their grip over the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and beyond, which exerts a heavy toll on civilians. Yet, this worsening security situation is not confined to Haiti; other countries and territories in the Caribbean, particularly Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago, have experienced a surge in gang violence amid their fragmented and volatile gang landscapes.
Topic:
Violence, Gangs, and Regional Security
Political Geography:
Latin America, Caribbean, and Haiti

3. Deadly Rio de Janeiro: Armed Violence and the Civilian Burden

Author:
Bhavani Castro and Julia Links Franciotti
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:
The public security situation in Brazil is complicated, and particularly in Rio de Janeiro state, which has high levels of violence and criminality. The presence of multiple different criminal groups fighting for territory, coupled with abusive government measures to tackle criminal activity, has created a deadly, high-risk environment for civilians in the state. In 2021, Rio de Janeiro registered 27 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate lower than states like Bahia and Ceará but significantly higher than the national average of 22. Rio de Janeiro also ranked first among Brazilian states in the number of deaths recorded during police interventions, with at least 1,356 people reportedly killed.1 In May 2021, for example, a police operation against drug traffickers in the Jacarezinho community in Rio de Janeiro city resulted in 29 reported fatalities. While authorities claimed that all those killed in the operation were linked to criminal groups, witnesses reported that police officers entered civilian houses and carried out extrajudicial executions.2 The Jacarezinho operation was the deadliest single event recorded by ACLED in Brazil in 2021. A year later, in May 2022, military and federal police forces clashed with the Red Command (CV) in the Vila Cruzeiro community in the Penha Complex, resulting in at least 26 reported fatalities, including civilians. These are not isolated incidents, but rather indicative of the increasing lethality of violence in Rio de Janeiro in 2021 and 2022, and the rising threat to civilians.
Topic:
Crime, Elections, Violence, Civilians, Militias, Gangs, and Public Security
Political Geography:
Brazil, South America, and Rio de Janeiro

4. Fighting Gangs Under the State of Exception in Honduras

Author:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
Abstract:
A year after the implementation of the state of exception on 6 December 2022, this report explores the evolution of violence likely related to gang activity between January and November 2023. ACLED data show that the security measures implemented thus far have yielded mixed results. Armed clashes and violence targeting civilians have continued unabated throughout 2023 due to persisting competition among gangs, especially in the country’s overcrowded prisons where violence has surged. Gangs continue to extort transportation workers in order to generate revenues, albeit the rate of these events has slowed down in 2023 compared to 2022. The geography of the violence points to gang violence moderately increasing and spreading beyond the crime hotspots of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. This finding substantiates claims that criminal groups have expanded to other strategic areas for drug trafficking and production, a phenomenon potentially exacerbated by state of exception measures and increased pressure on gangs in the most populous urban areas due to frequent law enforcement operations.
Topic:
Security, Law Enforcement, Violence, and Gangs
Political Geography:
Latin America and Honduras