Organized crime in Mexico: what the impediment to entry to Romanian tourists reveals

The impediment to enter mexican territory against a group of Romanian tourists in the last few hours caused the Bucharest Government Ask the authorities of the Aztec country for explanations.

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The text sent by the European diplomatic headquarters was released through the EFE news agency and it stated that they had received “a series of requests for consular assistance by Romanian citizens who were not allowed entry”.

The Mexican response pointed out that the people detained had presented alleged anomalies when answering the entry form and they were found “alerts” against him in security databases.

Two of the tourists affected reported to the Romanian chain Digi24 that Mexican officials they prevented their entry without more grounds than their nationalitydespite having hotel reservations and other types of documentation that supported his visit.

“All Romanians were put to one side and in single file”, said one of those affected according to EFE.

The tourists had to board a flight to Madrid and their passports were handed over to the ship’s commander who transported them to be returned to them just upon arrival in Europe.

This, however, is not the first time that citizens of Romanian nationality have experienced a situation like this. In February 2021, a group of 140 Romanian tourists were detained at the Cancun International Airport. and their passports confiscated for not being able to support the reason for their trip.

After reviewing your documents for three days, 136 of the tourists were able to enter the country, while the other four were repatriated.

The reason behind these inconveniences for European travelers to Mexico is the existence of organized crime gangs operating in the North American country perpetrating financial crimes and other crimes such as human or drug trafficking.

Thank you @eduardoalbor for all the support given to Romanian tourists ???????? and to the Romanian Embassy in all consular assistance efforts! Great team! https://t.co/erYg5y5t3b

— Ionuț Vâlcu (@ValcuIonut) February 3, 2021

the romanian mafia

According to research presented in 2020 by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Since March 2014, a criminal organization from Romania has been operating in Mexico that has spread through the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Guerrero.

Said criminal group It would be dedicated mainly to data theft and credit card cloning that visitors from different countries use to important tourist centers such as Cancun and many others located in the state of Quintana Roo.

Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs revealed in 2015 in an investigation published by the Daily Mail that at least 19 ATMs in the Riviera Maya had been affected by this criminal groupwho then used the stolen data to make purchases or clone cards.

In May 2021, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office (FGR) arrested Florian Tudorsyndicated as the leader of the Romanian mafia in the North American country. The European was facing charges of organized crime, extortion and attempted aggravated homicide..

Florian Tudor, leader of the Romanian mafia in Mexico, was arrested in February 2021.

The fall of Tudor revealed that his organization was dedicated, in addition to banking crimes, to the human trafficking and extortion in at least 15 countries. In Mexico, in addition, the Romanian had set up a government protection network corrupting officials from 14 different states.

“In recent years, the activities of transnational organized crime in Mexico have increased dramatically. This type of activity is classified as international terrorism. and Mexico is in the eye of the hurricane”, he comments to Trade PhD in International Relations and academic from the Universidad Iberoamericana Arlene Ramírez.

It is precisely this situation that would have led to the arrest of the Romanian tourists this week, due to the fact that the Mexican authorities would have received information from foreign intelligence services warning about the arrival of a mafia leader.

“The geographical position of Mexico is strategic both for better and for worse. In this case, organized crime structures have shown an increase in operations within the national territory, expanding their activity and making it an attractive place for these gangs.”, comments Ramirez.

migrations exceeded

But the threat of international criminals is not the only problem that Mexican immigration personnel must deal with, but also a bulky flow of travelers and reforms promoted by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) that would be playing against the State itself.

“Immigration control has been exceeded in Mexico. In this particular case the lack of operability and the effects of the contraction of the National Institute of Migration (INM) are seen, which generates a delay in the management of each case. The concern of the Romanian Government is not only the protection of the rights of its citizens but also the return process that could take longer than normal and exceeds international migration management protocols, because during this period people may not enjoy the guarantees absolute required”, explains Ramirez.

According to the expert, the current situation of the INM is due to two main factors: “On the one hand, Title 42 and the commitments acquired during the last stretch of Donald Trump’s presidency, having to house migrants awaiting an immigration trial; for another, the policy of the current government of contraction of the operability with which an important budget of several key institutes has been cut, among them that of Migration”.

As a sample of the first point, US border patrols released 10,300 migrants in Mexican border municipalities in the past week alone. To them will be added the between 4,000 and 6,000 that they arrest daily.

US Border Patrol released 10,300 migrants in Mexican border towns in the past week alone. (ALLISON DINNER / AFP /)

Regarding the second point, since AMLO came to power he lavished a government austerity policy, this led, for example, to the fact that in the first fiscal year with him in charge, 2019, the INM budget was reduced by 14%, from 1,731 million pesos (about US$86 million) in 2018 to 1,330 million (approximately US$66 million).

At the same time, there was an increase in complaints of corruption against INM personnel filed with the Attorney General’s Office. Since the beginning of AMLO’s administration, 68 complaints of this type have been recorded, 20% more than during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto.

On the other hand, the president has shown a predilection for the National Guard, a military force under civilian command and that as a result of a reform promoted by AMLO it has gained more powers since this year.

This has caused officials who are not trained for immigration work are involved in these processesleading various human rights organizations to document an increase in the number of violent incidents by members of the National Guard and the INM against migrants.

The National Guard has gained many more powers since AMLO’s accession to the presidency in Mexico. (Reuters Agency /)

“At the beginning of AMLO’s administration, there was a significant contraction (of the budget) and that generated, in addition to the support and entrustment to the National Guard of taking charge of Customs and Migrations, trying to supplant the activity of the INM, a lack of guarantees of respect for human rights and attention to migrants and of the country’s international commitments. This is being attended to by people who do not know the human rights protocols and are not experts on migration issues. That is why the concern of the Romanian embassy, ​​to know what will be the treatment and the condition behind this decision to deny entry (to its citizens)”, comments Ramirez.

“On the other hand, regarding the investigation protocols to detect the alleged arrival of people linked to organized crime structures, there must be a coordinated effort between the INM, the Attorney General’s Office and foreign institutions to give timely follow-up to each case following international law”, adds the expert.

Source: Elcomercio