During the People’s Conference headed by the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, presented the progress of the National Security Strategy in the state of Veracruz, highlighting a sustained decrease in high-impact crimes, as well as relevant arrests of generators of violence and public servants involved in illicit activities.
At the beginning of his intervention, the federal official recognized the permanent coordination with Governor Rocío Nahle García and stressed that Veracruz is a strategic entity for the country, where effective collaboration has been consolidated between the three levels of government, strengthening intelligence work and maintaining constant operational intervention under the leadership of the Government of the Republic.
According to the crime incidence report as of December 31, 2025, the daily average of intentional homicide in the entity registered a reduction of 28 percent when comparing September 2024 with December 2025, going from 3.13 to 2.48 homicides per day. Regarding high-impact crimes, the general trend of the last eight years remains downward, with a decrease of 0.3 percent between 2024 and 2025.
García Harfuch reported that, from October 1, 2024 to January 15, 2026, 3,571 people were arrested in Veracruz for high-impact crimes, in addition to the seizure of 1,041 firearms and more than 9,700 kilograms of drugs. In this period, the capture of leaders and operators of criminal groups related to kidnapping, extortion, homicide and collection of fees stood out, as well as actions against public servants who abused their position, within the framework of the policy of zero tolerance for corruption and impunity.
In the fight against extortion, he pointed out that since the implementation of the National Strategy against this crime, on July 6, 2025, the arrest of 49 people in the entity has been achieved, six of them considered priority objectives, in addition to the disabling of 4,621 telephone lines used for virtual extortion. Among the relevant cases, he mentioned the arrest of three municipal police officers and the capture of José Miguel N., director of Public Security, allegedly involved in the collection of rent.
Regarding the theft and trafficking of hydrocarbons, he reported that in Las Vigas de Ramírez, 933 thousand liters of fuel, 64 vehicles, three tankers and a property linked to a criminal group were seized. In subsequent actions, six additional searches were carried out with the arrest of 10 people and the seizure of weapons, grenades and more than a million liters of hydrocarbons.
Among other results, he highlighted that in Xalapa arrest warrants were executed against alleged perpetrators of high-impact homicides, as well as against 13 state police officers accused of forced disappearance. In Poza Rica, José Luis N., alias “El Gato”, identified as the operational leader of a criminal group, was arrested along with eight other members, also achieving the rescue of two people deprived of their liberty. In Boca del Río and other municipalities, searches led to the capture of nine people, including an alleged leader dedicated to international drug trafficking.
Finally, the head of the SSPC stressed that these results are the product of coordinated work between the Secretariat of National Defense, the Secretariat of the Navy, the Secretariat of the Interior, the National Guard, the Attorney General’s Office, the National Intelligence Center and the authorities of the state of Veracruz.
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