Water shortage is a boom for Mexican organized crimes

The authorities in the Mexican state of Michoacán employ satellite technology to counteract water the theft, and illuminates the growing threat from criminal groups that take advantage of an increasingly scarce and valuable natural resource.

The governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, announced at the end of April that the state's environmental surveillance system would also keep an eye on 35,000 irrigation reservoirs to monitor the deforestation and land use to ensure that they are not illegal during the dry season. When the reservoirs are filled, the government will examine the source of the water used, he said.

The system, which is supported by NASA and the European Union satellites, would enable the authorities to “tackle environmental crimes on a large scale like never before in the history of the state,” said Bedolla.

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While the authorities do not provide any details about how the reservoirs could be filled illegally, the new surveillance technology should shed light on the criminal dynamics, since water the theft of lakes and pipelines in Michoacán becomes an increasingly urgent problem.

Water is often taken illegally from Michoacán's Patzcuaro, one of the largest water bodies in the Mexico. The police were sent to protect Patzcuaro in April last year after theft and drought reduced its surface by 42%and increased the water level at the lowest time. In one case, the police broken down a water pump system that had stolen over 100,000 liters of water in just eight hours. Dozens of meters of water pipes sucked the water into a nearby avocado fruit garden.

Michoacán is anything but unique. According to experts who were consulted by Connectas, up to 15% of Mexico's water could be lost due to water the theft.

Water shortage is a growing problem in Mexico, especially in the dry northern countries. Areas of Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila currently have “extraordinary drought” -the most serious level of the Mexico -Düre -Monitor of the Mexican government.

In March, the United States refused to bring Colorado River Water to Mexico in order to react to the inability to meet Mexico, to fulfill his obligations to release water. This was the first time that the United States had rejected the release in the 80-year partnership agreement. On April 28, Mexico said it would meet its responsibilities in the water division.

Criminal ceremony analysis

Like other important resources, including oil and wood, water is now being exploited by criminal groups across Mexico. The limited capacity of the government on water sources and distribution as well as the probability of another drought will probably continue and even increase.

In a report by the Mexican National Water Commission (Conagua), which was accessed by Sol de Mexico, 5,000 water pipes in the north of the country was determined in the north of the country, almost three times as five years ago. In March 2024, the authorities in Mexico city proposed a legislative template to increase the fines for illegal water pipe that usually reduce water on tankers or modified trucks that move the water in the middle of a period with low water supply.

See also: Reporting on environmental crimes

In addition to water theft, organized crime groups also check the water distribution. During the recent field work in Culiacán, Sinaloa in April this year, sources announced that crime groups, in particular the Chapito's Group of the Sinaloa cartel, imposed an illegal tax system for commercial water dealers on and forced the redistribution to their conditions, which influence prices and security.

The criminal control of the water distribution also enables groups to blackmail farmers. According to a report of the Sinaloa cartel and the Mazatlecos recently indicated by EL, threats to control irrigation modules that manage the water distribution for the fields of farmers, and sowed information about the number of plants, farmers and the water volume. The groups cut access to water, block roads and burn farmers if they are not paid.

The drought that affects Mexico could also increase water theft into harmony with the price. HuachicoleoOr oil theft, expanded during the magic of higher gas prices, which indicates that the possibility of higher profit margins caused increased cases of theft. Water prices rose by almost 5%in Sinaloa last year.

Selected picture: A water tanker is filled. Credit: Francisco Rodríguez, El Universal, Mexico.