Peasants and indigenous populations are targets of criminal organizations that threaten, extort and cause the displacement of people.
In Zacatecas, where in February of this year dozens of families from the Palmas Altas community in Jerez abandoned their homes due to constant clashes between members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), it is estimated that three million of trees in an extension of 6,000 hectares have been abandoned by farmers, only in the municipality of Jerez, according to the InSight Crime Foundation.
Zacatecas is one of the main peach-producing regions in Mexico, where up to 8,000 tons a year are harvested, so losses could reach 45 million dollars, according to foundation sources.
“Fruit prices have increased dramatically in Mexico, where peaches, apples, papayas and other products have increased between 10 and 45% recently. Although there are many factors that have contributed to the inflation of fruit prices, the reduction in supply is due to the fact that farmers have been forced to flee (…) some have denounced that criminal groups have looted houses and stolen tractors while they are away,” said InSight Crime.
This international foundation also highlighted the anxiety suffered by avocado and lemon producers, mainly in the state of Michoacán, where last week an armed group persecuted and forced soldiers to leave the Nueva Italia community.
The avocado business, known as “green gold” for its profitability, InSight Crime said, “has long been the target of extortion by criminal groups. The cartels charge farmers a monthly protection fee, and trucks transporting the fruit are held up by armed men.
Cases of Guerrero and Chihuahua
Likewise, Insight Crime highlighted that indigenous communities in Guerrero and Chihuahua are also plagued by the fear caused by crime groups. He recalled that last week Lorena Chantzin and Marcos Campos Ahuejote, members of the Guerrero-Emiliano Zapata Indigenous and Popular Council, were found dead in the municipality of Chilapa, Guerrero, and that said organization accused the criminal group Los Ardillos of being behind the two crimes.
“In October 2021, community members and activists raised the alarm about Los Ardillos’ plans to expand into the El Ocotito valley, but there was little response from the authorities. Warnings about an attack came true in January 2022, when a confrontation between Los Ardillos and the Union of Peoples and Organizations of the State of Guerrero, an indigenous self-defense group, left four people dead in the community,” he explained. .
He stressed that Los Ardillos were dedicated to supervising the planting of poppies and heroin trafficking, for which they forced local communities to work on the crops under their orders, but now they have begun to depend on extortion, kidnapping and mining. illegal.
Insight Crime exposed that also in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua, mainly the Rarámuri indigenous people, have been suffering for years because of organized crime. “Illegal logging, poppy cultivation, land dispossession and illegal mining have ruined the lives of the Rarámuri, many of whom have been displaced and killed,” he warned.
“The war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has affected the lives of indigenous communities spread across the states of Durango, Nayarit, Zacatecas and Jalisco,” he said.