CIA Says Drug Cartels Control More Than 20% Of Mexico

Pictured above are members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, an organization that was formed under Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's Sinaloa Cartel in 2010 and which today has a stronghold on 24 of Mexico's 32 states 

Daily Mail: Drug cartels control more than 20% of Mexico according to classified CIA study, as homicides surge to highest levels for 30 years 

 * Classified 2018 CIA report found that drug cartels controlled almost over 20% of the Mexican territory, sources told the Washington Post 

 * The National Institute for Statistics and Geography data shows the continuous spike in murders over the last 30 years 

 * Mexico reported a record-high 36,685 murders in 2018, dipping slightly to 36,476 in 2019 

 * The Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection reported 26,431 murders from January 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020 

More than 20% of Mexico's territory - as many as 151,689 square miles - is under the control of the country's powerful drug cartels, according to a classified CIA report from 2018. 

The revelation comes as homicides in the country have surged to their highest levels for decades, amid bloody turf wars between rival crime groups that smuggle narcotics across the southern United States border for distribution in American cities. 

The secret study by the Central Intelligence Agency was compiled before current Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador entered office in December 2018, and has not been made public. 

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WNU Editor: Only 20%? 

Update: Mexican president taps loyalist as new security chief (AP).