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PULSE NEWS MEXICO

A study released this week by the political analysis firm AC Consultores showed that organized crime groups in Mexico are now exerting their influence over at least 1.59 million square kilometers of national territory, representing 81 percent of the country, leaving 108 million Mexicans at risk of violence.

The AC Consultores study was based on six months of meticulous review of official government data and documents hacked from Mexico’s Defense Secretariat by the Guacamaya group, which last September released a collection of over 4 million confidential government documents that were obtained by international hackers.

The criminal organizations with the greatest presence in Mexico are the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, the study said.

Mexican criminal groups, the study said, exert their influence and terrorize citizens through executions, massacres, drug banners, extortion, kidnappings, threatening videos and even the murders of police officers, politicians and officials.

Over the last four years, such events have been reported in 1,488 of Mexico’s 2,471 municipalities.

According to the study, the bloody Jalisco New Generation Cartel has the greatest presence in Mexico, operating across 28 out of the country’s 32 states. The Sinaloa Cartel comes in second place with operations in 24 states.

The presence of the Gulf Cartel has been detected in 10 states, the Northeast Cartel in eight states, the Familia Michoacana in seven and Los Zetas in six.

Additionally, the Templars have operation in five states and Los Chapitos in four.