• DEBACLE: More than 1,500 murders, at least 161 disappeared and 500 businesses closed are some of the consequences of a 10-year violent circle -linked to the drug trade- that has driven the town of Chilapa (pop. 129,000) in southwestern Guerrero state to a debacle.
• MARKET: “The artisans from neighboring communities of Chilapa no longer participate in the market because they are in danger of being killed or disappeared”, said Marcos Matías Alonso, a local indigenous leader, adding that sales at the once celebrated Chilapa’s market are down by 70%.
• MURDER RATE: During 2017, the municipality of Chilapa registered an extremely violent wave of crime -mostly between the Los Rojos and Los Ardillos drug gangs- that produced Mexico’s second highest homicide rate that year for a city: 134 per 100,000, according to CCSPJP, a Mexican NGO.
• STRATEGIC: “Although small in size, Chilapa is strategically located in the foothills of a major poppy growing area and is a major logistical hub for the drug trade since it has the only gas station within miles”, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a researcher at the Brookings Institution in a report of March 2019.
