• RECORD: The number of police officers killed in Mexico is expected to climb in 2019 well above the 421 mark of 2018 given organized crime’s targeting of police forces all across the country but particularly in the central state of Guanajuato where two gangs are involved in a violent turf war.
• NUMBER: Last week, 7 police officers were killed after an attack by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) against the police headquarters in Villagrán in Guanajuato, bringing the total number of police officers killed in the year all the way up to 415, according to NGO Causa en Común.
• IMPUNITY: “We have security, justice and social reintegration institutions that are collapsing. This is not a symptom just related to the police, it’s a matter of impunity at the national level. Given there are no consequences, it’s very easy to kill in Mexico”, says David Blanc, an analyst at Causa en Común.
• COMPARATIVE: With the US experimenting a dramatic drop in crime, the number of police officers killed has also reached record lows in recent years. With a total population larger than Mexico by 200 million, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says 39 police officers have been killed in 2019.
