The theater of security in Guanajuato: an act with results
The figures released by Omar García Harfuch this Friday in Irapuato are the script of an operation that seeks to change the course of a besieged state. From October 1, 2024 to February 15 of this year, authorities have arrested 4,400 people and seized more than 5 tons of narcotics, including a thousand lethal fentanyl pills.
But cold numbers only tell part of the story. The other is written with more than 6,400 weapons removed from circulation and a methamphetamine laboratory dismantled by the Army and Navy. As if it were the first act of a play, the head of the SSPC was clear about the objective:
“These actions represent a direct impact on the operational and financial capabilities of criminal organizations.”
The main cast: the detainees who changed the plot
The official narrative maintains that after a reinforcement ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum in February, the violence began to subside. The star test is six simultaneous operations last March in Querétaro, Guanajuato and Yucatán.
Nine members of a group linked to kidnapping, theft of hydrocarbons and homicides fell there. Among them, figures with cinematographic aliases: José Francisco N, ‘Alfa 1’, cell leader accused of the attack on a bar in Querétaro; and Sandra N, ‘La Patrona’, operational liaison for the sale of drugs.
The most compelling argument came later. García Harfuch assured that after these arrests, the script changed:
“It is very notable that with the arrest of these subjects… since that date, a decrease in the number of intentional homicides of 65% began to be recorded compared to February 2025.”
The pending chapter: Salamanca
The plot has a dark episode that still requires resolution. The attack on January 25 on a football field in Salamanca, where 11 people died, remains an open wound.
However, the investigations led to the identification and capture of Moisés N, alias ‘Moi’, indicated as the perpetrator and cell leader in several municipalities. Three other members of the Santa Rosa Lima Cartel fell with him, two directly accused of surveillance work during the attack.
The strategy against the ‘floor charge’
In parallel, the National Strategy against Extortion has added its own arrests in Guanajuato: 16 people, seven considered ‘priority targets’. The list sounds like a villainous cast:
- Cristian Alejandro N, cell leader responsible for distribution and ‘floor collection’.
- Genaro N, ‘El Silencio’, linked to homicides and extortion between Michoacán and Guanajuato.
- Edgar Eduardo N, related to the mass homicide of seven young people in San Bartolo Berrios.
- Gustavo N, ‘The Old Man’, criminal operational leader.
The network expanded with arrests in Celaya (such as Luis Francisco N, ‘El Piolín’), León (Marco Antonio N, ‘El Flaco’, linked to the murder of prison officers) and Santa Cruz Juventino Rosas (Norma N, ‘La Italiana’, leader of a group dedicated to hydrocarbons and weapons).
My final analysis: This is the type of political play where the figures are the scenery, but the names and aliases are the actors. The promise is a sustained reduction in horror. The public—the citizens—hopes that the third act is not another tragic twist but an ending where calm is permanent. For now, the numbers give hope; maintaining it will be the real challenge.
