The official version vs. the reality of asphalt
The National Guard came out today with their weekly good news report. According to them, highway robberies are on the decline. General Guillermo Briceño announced it in the morning at the Palace, as part of the “Zero Highway Robbery” operation.
“The operation called ‘Zero Highway Robbery’ remains active, which has allowed us to improve surveillance on more than 50 thousand kilometers of road network,” said Briceño.
More than 20 thousand elements deployed, they say. Concentrated in Puebla, Hidalgo, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí. Coordination with transporters, recovery of vehicles… the speech is perfectly rehearsed.
What is not said on the podium
But here’s the detail they always leave out: did anyone ask the truckers? To the drivers who travel those 50 thousand kilometers daily? The official figures are nice on paper, but fear on the roads is not measured with statistics.
The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System completes the picture: high-impact crimes decreasing since 2018, vehicle theft with violence also decreasing. Everything perfect, everything under control.
I wonder: if everything is going so well, why do we continue to see videos of assaults on the highway? Why are transporters’ WhatsApp groups still full of alerts? Collective memory is longer than any morning conference.
Let’s remember: every time they announce a “downward trend”, it is worth reviewing what they defined as “theft” for that statistic. And above all, ask ourselves if this decrease is felt where it really matters: on the steering wheel.




