Guanajuato was once again the most violent state during the first quarter of 2022

Guanajuato, the most violent state for three consecutive years, resumed leadership in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Common Criminal Incidence Report of the National Executive Secretariat of Public Security.

With 766 victims of intentional homicide, the entity governed by Diego Sinuhe Rodríguez Vallejo surpassed Michoacán (756), which in the first two months remained in the lead.

León is the municipality with the highest number of homicide folders, with 137. Nationwide, Guanajuato accounts for 10.4% of total homicides (7,354 victims).

In March, the state of the Mexican bajío recorded 289 violent deaths, 17 more than Michoacán and 40 fewer than the State of Mexico, the third entity in the country with the highest number of intentional homicides. In February, 231 were registered and in January 246.

In the rate of intentional homicide crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, Guanajuato ranked seventh with an average of 9.76 and behind other states such as Colima, Baja California, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Morelos and Sonora.

In three consecutive years, Guanajuato has positioned itself as the entity with the highest number of homicides in the country. In 2018 it reached the top position with 3,436 homicides, in 2019 it stood at 3,875 and in 2020 it reached its all-time high in the last thirty years with 4,964.

Celaya (812), León (780) and Irapuato (530) were placed among the five most lethal municipalities in 2020, behind only Ciudad Juarez (Chihuahua) and Tijuana (Baja California). Among the three, they account for up to 47% of the homicides that occur in the 46 municipalities that make up the entity.

The last expression of violence occurred on the night of this Wednesday, April 20, in Irapuato, where a group of motorcyclists killed five people.

According to information released by local media, the first shooting began at 8:30 p.m., when a group of civilians equipped with long guns broke into Morelos Street and without a word fired on three individuals identified as El Güero, Daniel and Teodoro.

Later, the gunmen moved two streets to the south and in one of the homes they fired at two people who were inside. Videos spread on social networks by neighbors allow us to hear the dozens of bullets in an operation that took place in a few minutes.

The state has been going through a war between cartels since 2019: Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco Nueva Generación.

On August 2, 2020, the Mexican government captured José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, el Marro, leader of the CSRL, an organization based in Guanajuato targeted for stealing fuel.

El Marro was one of the main objectives of the government and generated violence in the state. Although his capture was one of the most accurate blows against crime, the violence did not stop its course. Shortly thereafter, the situation worsened now because of the position vacated by Yépez Ortiz.

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