Latin America and the Caribbean Overview: July 2024

Brazil: Security forces roll out operation against criminal groups in Rio de Janeiro

On 15 July, the military and civil police launched Operation Ordo in six neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro’s west zone to combat criminal activities and thwart armed clashes between criminal groups.¹ Around 2,000 officers were deployed in the area, which is a constant battleground between drug trafficking groups, police militias, and security forces.² Authorities arrested around 170 people and intervened in numerous illegal businesses since the operation began.³ 

Clashes between non-state actors in Rio’s West Zone continued during the second half of July in spite of the operation, amid rivalry between armed groups in the metropolitan area. The operation comes after six Comando Vermelho (CV) members were killed at the beginning of the month in a clash with military police in Cidade de Deus. The expansion of the CV into Rio’s West Zone contributed to a 50% surge in political violence in 2023, as the gang sought to reclaim territories long dominated by police militias,⁴ and violence has remained high ever since. Non-state armed groups continue to pose a significant threat to civilians in Rio de Janeiro and across Brazil, which is the third-most dangerous country for civilians globally according to ACLED’s Conflict Index 2024 mid-year update.

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Ecuador: Attacks on political figures increase despite new emergency measures to curb violence

On 2 July, President Daniel Noboa declared a new state of emergency aimed at curbing organized crime in the six provinces and one canton where authorities have recorded the highest levels of violence in recent months.⁵ The measure, which contemplates using military forces to fight criminal organizations and the limitation of some civil rights, comes after the Constitutional Court overturned two previous state of exception measures issued in April and May.⁶ Noboa has introduced tough-on-crime policies since he started his term in November 2023,⁷ raising concerns about authorities’ human rights abuses and excessive use of force.⁸ In one such case in Quevedo, Los Rios, military officials shot and killed a municipal traffic agent after the agent disregarded a weapons control checkpoint, on 7 July. Even though the state of exception is supposed to increase authorities’ pressure on criminal gangs, it has failed to curb their activities and to provide protection to political figures. In July, ACLED records 10 incidents of violence targeting political figures, including civil servants and their relatives, reportedly resulting in eight deaths. This led to July being the second-most lethal month in Ecuador since ACLED started its coverage of the country in 2018. The number of events also marks a slight increase compared to the eight incidents recorded the previous month.

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Haiti: Anti-gang police operations rekindle violence in Artibonite and Ouest departments

Police operations to retake control of police stations and key roads in Artibonite and Ouest departments in July led to a near doubling of fatalities nationwide compared to the previous month. In Pont Sondé, Artibonite, police killed at least eight Gran Grif gang members between 12 and 15 July as they sought to prevent the seizure of a sub-police station. Meanwhile, in the southern commune of Gressier, Port-au-Prince, security forces clashed with gangs between 18 and 25 July over control of a police station and National Road 2, which connects the capital with southern departments. The clash resulted in over 40 reported fatalities — the highest ACLED has recorded in this commune since coverage began in 2018. 

The spike in clashes coincided with the beginning of joint Haitian-Kenyan operations in the Ouest department following the arrival of a second contingent of 200 Kenyan police officers for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission on 16 July.⁹ In Port-au-Prince, the joint forces regained control of the building of the National Port Authority in the La Saline neighborhood on 17 July. One week after, in another operation, the joint forces killed three gang members in Ganthier, Croix-des-Bouquets arrondissement, after the 400 Mawozo gang attacked a customs office near the border with the Dominican Republic. 

In the first two weeks since a state of emergency was declared in 14 communes on 17 July, ACLED records at least 76 gang members killed by security forces, although the head of the National Police reported that the total could be up to 104.¹⁰ Despite a general decrease in gang violence since April 2024, the violent targeting of civilians persists and is growing more lethal, as noted in ACLED’s Conflict Index mid-year update. Ransom kidnappings, which had decreased earlier this year, surged in July as gangs sought to bolster their resources in anticipation of the MSS operations.

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Mexico: Escalation of the war between criminal groups in Chiapas triggers displacement to Guatemala

Clashes between rival armed groups increased in July, particularly spearheaded by a spike in Chiapas, where Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa cartel are battling for control of drug and migrant trafficking routes and illegal mining near the Guatemalan border.¹¹ Around 20 and 21 July, clashes erupted in five municipalities, including Chicomuselo and Amatenango de la Frontera, where civilians were also directly targeted. Following the clashes, roadblocks were erected in at least 15 municipalities and were likely set up by the warring groups, which have also stepped up forced recruitment of locals in some of the communities cut by the roadblocks, according to local organizations.¹² This violence forced at least 580 residents to flee to Guatemala, adding to the over 2,000 that had already been displaced within Chiapas since January 2024. These massive displacements are a symptom of the state of the conflict in a country ranked second-most dangerous in the world for civilians, according to ACLED’s Conflict Index mid-year update.¹³ In response to the surging numbers of displaced Mexicans, Guatemalan authorities have reinforced military presence in the border departments of Huehuetenango and San Marcos and provided humanitarian assistance to the displaced.¹⁴

The surging violence in Chiapas came as US forces arrested one of the Sinaloa cartel’s leaders, ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, as he — along with another leader of the Los Chapitos faction, Joaquín Guzmán López — landed on a private plane in El Paso, Texas. It is yet unclear what these blows to leadership will have on cartel activity, but they could deepen internal fractures within the cartel, and may have repercussions in the organization’s ability to vie for the control of territory with other cartels such as CJNG, including in Chiapas.¹⁵

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Nicaragua: President and vice president step up their persecution of opponents and government allies

The government of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo continued its crackdown on dissent. Ostensibly, this indicates an effort to consolidate power and ensure a smooth family power transition to Rosario Murillo, replacing current top officials with people closer to her influence.¹⁶ In recent months, government repression has been targeting not only opponents but also government officials and allies, particularly in the judiciary, foreign ministry, and National Police. The government has gotten rid of dissident voices by either dismissing or arresting them, often on corruption charges. Some of the seven significant arrests recorded in July stand out for the high profile and closeness to the presidential couple of those targeted: On 10 July, authorities arrested Deputy Foreign Minister  Arlette Cristina Marenco and her husband, Reynaldo Vidaurre Benavidez,¹⁷ followed by the detention of Jorge Guerrero, a longtime Ortega ally, on 16 July.¹⁸ On 29 July, the government dismissed another key official, Deputy Minister for International Affairs Carlos Alberto Cerda Gaitán.¹⁹ 

Meanwhile, the persecution of opponents continues. On 10 July, state forces detained and expelled from the country a renowned journalist, a practice the government has regularly used since it expelled 222 political prisoners to the US in February 2023. A few days later, on 14 July, they detained her brother, a former military officer, after he exchanged fire with police during the arrest, injuring four.

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Venezuela: Disputed re-election of Maduro triggers demonstrations nationwide

On 28 July, the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared incumbent President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential election with 51.2% of the votes, defeating his opponent Edmundo González of the Unitary Democratic Platform (PUD), with 44.2%.²⁰ However, the opposition claimed the results were manipulated after the process was marred by the arrest of at least 101 members of González’s campaign team,²¹ and one event in which unknown assailants cut the brakes of María Corina Machado’s convoy in the run-up to the election.²² Instead, it asserted that González had won the election with 67% of the votes, based on around 80% of the vote tallies it had managed to gather.²³ The proclamation of Maduro as the winner has also raised an outcry internationally. The condemnation of several Latin American leaders prompted Maduro to expel seven diplomatic delegations from Caracas and break diplomatic relations with Peru, whose government recognized González as president-elect.²⁴

The election results sparked widespread unrest contributing to a nearly three times increase in demonstrations in July compared to the previous month. Over 150 demonstrations were recorded following the vote in all states, and while mostly peaceful, at least 28% of them were violent. Protests were also heavily quashed by security forces and pro-government militias. The NGOs Provea and Foro Penal reported that by 7 August at least 24 people had been killed and 1,229 arrested, while the government reported up to 2,229 arrests.²⁵ As national and international tensions are unlikely to abate, the death toll and number of detentions may continue to climb.

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