Mexico has sent 600 troops to areas on the border with the U.S. following an uptick in violence, including an attack on a military installation and mass kidnappings.
The Mexican soldiers have been sent to the states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, which border Texas, according to Border Report, an outlet which reports on news about the Mexico-U.S. border.
An international security expert told the outlet that the region was formerly dominated by the Zetas drug cartel, which was known for its violent tactics.
While the Zetas' influence has waned due to leadership arrests, factions like the Northeast cartel and Zetas Old School remain active, and the border area is now contested by splinter and rival groups, the expert said.
In recent weeks, the area has seen a surge in violence.
Mayoral candidate Noe Ramos Ferretiz, who was seeking reelection, was killed in Tamaulipas, in what local media reported was a knife attack.
A Mexican army installation was also attacked in the town of Miguel Aleman in Tamaulipas, and armed clashes between gangs were reported to have taken place in the area.
And in Nuevo Leon, dozens of people were reported to have been kidnapped, of which many have since been released or rescued.
Speaking about cartel violence in the region, Michael Ballard, vice president of intelligence for Virginia-based Global Guardian, told Border Report: "The Zetas are not a congruent entity anymore, but some offshoots are quite active. We are seeing major factions operating in cities along the border,
"It's a small slice of what they used to control, but those two states are still among the primary routes for heroin and cocaine to make its way to the border and the U.S. There's a reason why border cities and states remain hotly contested and you have a lot of violence."
Ballard said that while the levels of control and violence are lower than they were under the Zetas, "make no mistake, they are still dangerous, and we broadly recommend against travel to Veracruz or Tamaulipas unless it's absolutely necessary."
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is known for his "hugs, not bullets" policy for dealing with cartels, which involves avoiding confrontations with them and instead seeking to address the socioeconomic roots of organized crime.
However, his apparent attempts to humanize the cartels have sometimes stoked controversy—last week he described the country's cartels and gangs as essentially "respectful people" who "respect the citizenry" and mostly kill one another.
Experts and activists say that cartel violence has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Mexicans and forced many to flee their homes.
Obrador last month refused to fight drug cartels on U.S. orders as part of what he called a "Mexico First" policy, explaining, "We are not going to act as police officers for any foreign government."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
