Los Cromos, identified by federal and local sources as the operational arm of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), operated under the cover of the Interoceanic Corridor to expand extortion, land dispossession, and regional violence. The security situation surrounding the megaproject intensified following the arrest of Miguel Sánchez Altamirano, also known as Quetu, alongside local police commanders over alleged ties to Los Cromos, according to investigations by the State Attorney General’s Office of Oaxaca and the federal security cabinet.
Intelligence Reports and Guacamaya Leaks Documentation
The Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional documented the interest of organized crime in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec starting in 2021 through documents leaked by Guacamaya Leaks. In February 2021, the Regional Center for Intelligence Fusion in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, issued an official report acknowledging that construction progress faced both social resistance and direct criminal interference. The report mapped the CJNG’s incursions into Oaxacan territory to control routes and pressure infrastructure development through threats and extortion. The leaked documents also exposed military risk maps identifying the Isthmus as a disputed zone among the CJNG, the Gulf Cartel, and local cells including Los Coyunda, Los Reyes, Los Chukis, El Cheturo, Los Pilos, and Los Cromos.
Did You Know? Government intelligence reports from February 2021 formally mapped the expansion of the CJNG into Oaxaca, noting that infrastructure development faced direct criminal interference alongside social resistance.
Infrastructure Delays and Operational Disruptions Along the Z Line
Civil engineering works for the Interoceanic Train in Juchitán advanced through a region heavily impacted by criminal activity. Reports from the Auditoría Superior de la Federación regarding physical inspections of the Z Line between Coatzacoalcos and Salina Cruz noted delays and schedule setbacks stemming from executive planning deficiencies and logistical challenges in correcting curves and slopes in Oaxaca. Modernization contracts accumulated delays exceeding one year across key connecting sections. While the audit reports did not explicitly name organized crime as the direct cause of construction delays, federal judicial files establish that the expansion of Los Cromos coincided directly with the corridor’s development.
Impact on Communities and Ongoing Investigations in Juchitán
The state prosecutor’s office formally charged the former mayor and the former police commissioner of Juchitán with promoting and concealing extortion schemes targeting local businesses and construction contractors. Business chambers and civil organizations reported that criminal pressures frequently forced temporary suspensions of work or increased security costs for transporting strategic railway materials. Incidents like the derailment in the Nizanda-Chivela zone further highlighted project security risks. Data collected by organizations including Article 19, the Marabunta Oaxaca Humanization Peace Brigade, and the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center show that dispossession, injury, and threat reports across the 79 municipalities of the megaproject rose from 376 in 2018 to 704 in 2021, marking an 87.2% increase following the announcement of the corridor.
Despite the arrest of the former mayor, who served as private secretary to municipal president Emilio Montero Pérez starting in 2018 before taking the interim presidency in November 2022, extortion and land dispossession involving individuals with alleged backing from local police continue in Juchitán. On September 21, the Vicente Jiménez family publicly denounced an attempted land dispossession in the Novena Section’s Lázaro Cárdenas alleyway by a civilian named Antonia A., accompanied by a municipal police officer dressed as a civilian, identified as David L. L. State police arrived to assist after the victims resisted, prompting the claimants to withdraw while issuing warnings that they would return. Civil organizations documented 226 intimidation, harassment, threat, extortion, and physical assault cases in areas surrounding the Interoceanic Train route between May 1, 2021, and May 1, 2024. Following the formal dissolution of the Juchitán city council by the state Congress due to a vacuum of authority, the Secretaría de Marina assumed complete control of perimeter security for the Interoceanic Train.
Los Cromos acts as the CJNG operational arm for extortion and trafficking
What role did Los Cromos play in the region?
Federal and local sources identified Los Cromos as the operational arm of the CJNG, working under the cover of the Interoceanic Corridor to expand extortion, land dispossession, and regional violence, alongside controlling migrant flows and drug-trafficking routes.
How did the Auditoría Superior de la Federación explain construction delays?
The audit reports attributed physical inspection delays and schedule setbacks on the Z Line to executive planning deficiencies and logistical challenges regarding curves and slopes in Oaxaca.
Who assumed security control following the dissolution of the Juchitán city council?
Following the formal dissolution of the city council by the state Congress, the Secretaría de Marina took over the complete resguardo of the Interoceanic Train perimeter.
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