Claudia Sheinbaum’s Security Strategy

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Emilio Dorantes

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Secretary of Citizen Security Omar García Harfuch introduced a new federal security strategy aimed at combating organized crime and reducing homicides. The strategy includes four pillars:

1.   Addressing the Causes – Supporting vulnerable families by reducing poverty and inequality. Creating opportunities for youth to improve their quality of life and prevent them from joining organized crime groups.

2.   Consolidating the National Guard under Sedena – Strengthening the operational capacity and professionalism of the National Guard by using the resources and educational system of the Ministry of Defense (Sedena).

3.   Strengthening Intelligence and Investigation Capabilities – Creation of a National Intelligence System and a Subsecretary of Intelligence and Police Investigation to improve the detection of criminal networks by using technology, fieldwork, and analysis to anticipate- rather than react to- high impact crimes.

4.   Heightened Coordination – Better coordination within the security cabinet and state authorities, including targeted interventions in high crime areas such as Guanajuato, Baja California, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, and Sinaloa.

Sheinbaum emphasized increased intelligence and investigative efforts in states with the highest crime rates. This approach breaks from the “hugs, not bullets” security strategy of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which registered over 199,000 homicidesduring his six-year term.