EL ACARREO: A MEXICO VIOLENCE NEWSLETTER
January 9, 2023
Black Thursday II and the Arrest of Ovidio Guzman
In a pre-dawn operation on January 5, Mexican army forces captured Ovidio Guzmán López, unleashing a wave of violence across the entire state of Sinaloa. The terror mimicked the events of October 17, 2019, when blockades and shootouts in Culiacán forced security forces to release Guzmán López after briefly detaining him.
December 19, 2022
2022 in Review
In many ways, a recap of 2022 would sound very similar to that of any other year in Mexico’s recent history. At the same time, the past twelve months have not been simple repetition of history, and it is worth examining some of the most significant developments to understand what 2023 might have in store.
December 19, 2022
2022 Recap Roundtable
How do we make sense of 2022? For this special edition of El Acarreo, we turned to some of our favorite observers and analysts to help explain the past 12 months.
September 6, 2022
Militarization and the National Guard Reforms
Early Saturday morning, in a largely party-line vote, Mexico’s congress passed a set of controversial reforms to the National Guard. The Senate is expected to approve the legislation in the coming days. Here are four points help understand the significance of these reforms...
August 22, 2022
Blockades and "Narcoterrorism"
Two weeks ago, residents of several Mexican cities experienced frightening waves of violence and intimidation. Should we call these events "narcoterrorism"?
July 25, 2022
The Arrest of Rafael Caro Quintero
Only July 15, Mexican Marines arrested Rafael Caro Quintero, one of the most infamous figures in the history of Mexican drug trafficking. Our interview with Benjamin Smith helps explain what Caro Quintero represents.
May 5, 2022
US-Mexico Security Cooperation
US-Mexico security cooperation is once again a hot button topic this month, in the wake of news reports that Mexico has all but stopped collaborating with the DEA on drug trafficking investigations. With intense, close operational cooperation appearing unlikely to return anytime soon, what might the security partnership look like going forward?
December 22, 2021
2021 in Review
In many ways, the past year demonstrated that violence and security policy in Mexico must be understood in long-term context. Reflecting on the major trends we saw, here are our five takeaways from 2021:
November 17, 2021
Nuevo Laredo Disappearances
Last Tuesday it was reported that a judge had ordered the release of twelve Marines, who had been arrested earlier this year in connection with a string of enforced disappearances that occurred in Nuevo Laredo in 2018.
June 21, 2021
Journalism in Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas is a state that simultaneously exemplifies and exaggerates many aspects of the drug war. The site of one of the earliest media blackouts due to threats from organized crime, it is also a place that is difficult to understand, where nuance and context are absent from the narrative.
April 12, 2021
Elections and Violence
Campaigns for Mexico’s June 6 election officially kicked off just over a week ago. The elections are the largest in the country’s history, and they are occurring in the shadow of a wave of political violence.
February 5, 2021
Cienfuegos and the Bilateral Relationship
As the new Biden administration begins to chart a path for what is bound to be a complicated relationship with Mexico, the case of Salvador Cienfuegos remains both a topic of conversation and a source of conflict.