In Some Latin American Countries, Organized Crime Advances Through City Hall

Apatzingán’s newly elected council members were met with a rude surprise on their first day in office a few years back: The mayor of the Mexican city, Uriel Chávez Mendoza, explained that a third of their monthly salaries would be taken by the powerful Knights Templar cartel. In an interview after the mayor himself was arrested in 2014 for extortion and ties to organized crime, the terrified council members recounted constant threats and pressure to tailor their decisions to the cartel’s needs. Mendoza even drafted legislation that would have handed over a third of the city’s budget to a cartel shell company.

Organized crime continues to spread throughout some countries in Latin America, and mayors’ offices are becoming prime targets. More and more criminal gangs are setting up shop in city hall, blackmailing for protection and resources, or swiftly doing away with those who threaten their illicit activities.