US issued a travel alert for Colima due to violence

The United States government issued a new travel alert, now for the state of Colima, due to the violence that occurs in that Mexican Pacific state, so it asked its citizens not to travel to the entity.

“Colima is experiencing an increase in violence among criminal organizations, particularly in the city of Colima and the surrounding urban areas. There have been shootings between criminal groups in public places where passers-by have been injured or killed,” reads the alert issued by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

The Department of State's travel advisory is level 4, which means that it is not recommended to enter the entity due to the high risk of facing crime-related situations, such as kidnapping.

If you are already in the entity, the US government recommended taking care of the environment and keeping an eye on the local media for updates and, in case of emergency, calling 911.

In addition, they recalled that they can also contact the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico by calling (55) 8526 2561, for Mexico; 1-844-528-6611, from that country.

It should be recalled that on March 14 there were reports of several roadblocks and tractor-truck fires in the entity, following the arrest in Jalisco of Aldrin “J”, alias “El Chaparrito”, alleged leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) in Colima.

A few days later, on March 26, three bodies were found in the Bosques del Sur neighborhood, south of the city of Colima, which were gagged and unidentified.

Just a day earlier, local authorities had reported that the third month of the year (March) was the most violent month of the year so far in 2022 in terms of intentional homicides. As of that date, 193 executions had been recorded in the entity.

Gustavo Adrián Joya Cervera, appointed as security spokesman, told local media in a conference that there were 50 murders in January and 68 in February, but during 24 days in March they had already concluded 75 cases.

On the same day of his presentation, Manuel “N”, a ministerial agent from Colima, was shot and intercepted in a gap adjacent to the highway that connects with Guadalajara. The body was inside a typical official van and more than 100 casings of long and short guns were secured at the crime scene.

Joya Cervera reiterated that the wave of violence in the state is due to disputes of a split in the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), whose narco-war broke out with a fight and the murder of nine inmates in state Cereso on January 25.

One of those responsible, Aldrin Miguel Jarquín Jarquín, El Chaparrito, was arrested in Zapopan on March 13. The fall of the head of the CJNG has led to considerable increases in executions, according to the security spokesman.

While Josué Brizuela Meraz, alias La Vaca, leader of the Colima Independent Cartel, which was operating in joint operations until his disaffiliation this year, remains at large. According to several narcomantas signed with his nickname and the name of the criminal group he leads, La Vaca says he will gain control of the territory.

Brizuela Meraz operators said that their former allies ordered the execution of Governor Indira Vizcaíno, but the faction based in the Mezcales neighborhood did not agree to avoid conflicts with the authorities in a case of this magnitude, although they warned that in the event of the murder they would seek to blame hit men for The Cow.

In February, 615 additional elements arrived in Colima from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), the Navy (Semar) and the Guardia Nacional (GN), to stop the wave of violence that is shaking the entity.

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