Breathe
By Sophia Huett López, Police Officer since 2008. From Guanajuato. Promoter of women's leadership in police institutions. Fellow and member of the International Women's Forum.
There was a time in the history of this country when security achievements were represented by the arrest of criminals at press conferences.
As we dined on tacos, waited in a doctor's office or watched the television, which took center stage at lunchtime, we could see an official detailing the operation and the crimes to which those who appeared next to him were related: criminals accompanied by firearms and even the drugs with which they were arrested.
Accustomed to this narrative, I came to question whether these captures, which looked like the trophy of a testosterone contest, really had a real effect on the quality of life of citizens.
Today, the absence of these actions makes the analysis relatively simple and frankly sad.
In the past (the one that some abhor just for being in the past), there were concrete cases that let us know that the arrest of criminal leaders DID HAVE AN EFFECT on the quality of life in the cities: Ciudad Juarez and La Laguna.
In the case of Ciudad Juarez, known as "the most violent city in the world," more than 25 high-impact arrests were made, including its two main leaders, territorial and group leaders, as well as generators of violence. In addition to the actions related to the much-treasured "reconstruction of the social fabric", the capture of these key figures allowed 55% fewer homicides to be recorded the following year compared to January to November 2011.
As for La Laguna, an area in the north of the country comprising two states and three different cities, the violence arose from the fight between criminal groups, among other reasons, over drug dealing. There, too, high-impact criminal targets were arrested in surgical operations locally and in other states of the country.
The apprehension of the leaders of the organizations, territorial chiefs, group leaders, generators of violence and even their replacements, allowed for 449 cases of 1,198 homicides to be recorded in 2012 in La Laguna, with a downward trend in 2014.
The same could be the case in Michoacán, where the authorities also swept away criminal leaders. However, the involvement of crime in the political sphere and the lack of continuity in security actions from the local level did not make that state a success story. After the arrest of Servando Gómez, homicides, extortion and crimes in general were reduced, but soon someone appeared who wanted to occupy the space and no one stopped him.
What did it take to make these large captures and so many others that would not fit in this space? It did not require a Battalion, a large deployment and hundreds of millions of pesos to expand the state of force.
These arrests were carried out by a group of fifty people: investigative and field police, who, without the use of violence, surprised the key figures and, better yet, with the proper legal support so that they would not go free.
So, are we talking about institutional trophies? Today I am more than convinced that they were not.
Enforcing the law is not a declaration of war, but a way to achieve peace and tranquility for citizens. The arrest of criminal leaders should not be understood as a show of force or a political style, but as a way to achieve peace.
In these times when the few arrests that are reported are of the lowest level of organizations (please consult the media to see that so far this six-year term we are talking about less than five high profile arrests), we can say that frankly, we miss the arrest of major criminal leaders.
It doesn't matter if they hold a press conference to present them as trophies.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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