Cuernavaca: where organized crime plays GTA in real life
Imagine this: a picturesque city, known as the “City of Eternal Spring”, but where the only eternal seems to be the drama of organized crime. That’s right, friends, Cuernavaca is in the eye of the hurricane, and not precisely because of its flowers. The mayor, José Luis Uriostegui Salgado, tries to sell the idea that things “are improving”, but with a perception of insecurity that is around 81%, it sounds more like a “yes, but no” worthy of a meme.
Cameras, weapons and patrols: the basic kit against crime
The mayor boasts that he arrived in a city with zero video surveillance cameras (yes, like in the 90s) and now they have 1,200. It sounds impressive, until you realize that drug traffickers are still hanging banners as if they were influencers promoting their “brand.” “It’s just that we don’t have full coverage,” says Uriostegui, while we all think: “Of course, because installing cameras in 2025 is like charging an iPhone with a USB type A cable.”
And not only that: the man talks about facial recognition technology and emotion reading, as if Cuernavaca were the new setting for Minority Report. But, be careful, because while the City Council dreams of being Querétaro 2.0, the criminals continue to operate with the tranquility of someone who knows that the system is slower than a bureaucratic procedure.
“It exceeds the municipal force”: that is, we are fed up with it
Here is the jewel in the crown: the mayor admits that organized crime surpasses them. Yes, like when you try to follow a gym routine in January and by February you are already in “I’ll start tomorrow” mode. “They are well-armed groups, very coordinated,” he confesses, which in millennial language translates as: “They are more organized than my WhatsApp group for ordering tacos.”.
And then comes the classic textbook excuse: “We don’t have investigative powers.” In other words, they can arrest a guy with a stolen car, but if the drug trafficker gets creative, the municipality becomes a spectator. What’s next? That they ask for written permission to commit a crime?
Meanwhile, heat maps and collaboration with state and federal governments sound nice on paper, but the reality is that Cuernavaca is still the Wild West of Morelos. And the mayor insists that there are 900 thousand inhabitants, but 378 thousand. As if organized crime reviewed the census before acting.
Conclusion? The city moves forward, but at snail’s paces in a world of narco hares. And meanwhile, citizens continue to wait for that “optimal future” that, according to Uriostegui, will come… someday.
Are you worried about security in your city? Share this note and let’s talk about how technological solutions are not always the silver bullet against crime. #SafeCuernavaca (or so we hope).
