• ROBBERIES: Freight train robberies increased in the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa during 2019 in what some believe is the targeting of specific agricultural commodities,, according to Mexican government data and accounts from agricultural processors.
• GRAINS: During the past few years, robberies of grains and auto parts have accounted for around half of all train robberies in Mexico. People in the private sector believe that robbers are particularly targeting trains carrying wheat in Sonora and trains moving corn in Sinaloa.
• MOVEMENT: “We are seeing that criminals continues to move to regions following certain movement of cargo”, said Felipe de Javier Peña, head of CONAGO, a private sector umbrella group representing several of Mexico’s associations in the agricultural and food processing sectors.
• NUMBERS: Mexican government data shows that the number of freight train robberies in Sonora between the months of January and September was 240 in 2018. The number for the same period in 2019 was 253. In Sinaloa, numbers for the same dates were 88 and 124.
