SUMMARY
The outbreak of fighting between different drug-trafficking gangs in Mexico can be understood against the background of changes in the Mexican political landscape during the last decades. During the 1980s, there was a loose network of drug smugglers controlling their own “plaza” for drug trafficking. Governmental authority was highly centralized under PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, Institutional Revolutionary Party) rule and by bribing high officials, the drug smugglers could control their businesses without getting interrupted by the authorities. When single-party rule started to give way to local opposition these networks and relationships were transformed, to the advantage of some actors but to the disadvantage of others. The drug cartels started to fight each other for control over territory and previous alliances fell apart.
Since President Felipe Calderon launched his offensive against the drug cartels in 2006, many important leaders have been arrested or killed. However, the elimination of top leaders has not always resulted in less violence and weaker cartels. The previously well-organized, centralized organizations have often experienced in-fighting between groups trying to fill the power vacuum when a prominent leader has been removed. A constant shift of alliances has made the situation in Mexico extremely lethal and hard to handle.
In December 2009, the leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel Arturo “El Barbas” Beltrán Leyva, also known as “El jefe de jefes”, was killed by Mexican Marines in Morelos state and a power struggle erupted within the organization. The second brother, Carlos Beltrán Leyva, was arrested in January 2010 and Hector “El H” Beltrán Leyva became the new leader of the group. Following the death of Arturo a split occurred between his security chief Edgar “El Barbie” Valdez Villarreal and new leader Hector as Hector chose Sergio “El Grande” Villarreal Barragán as his top enforcer instead of Valdez Villarreal. Heavy fighting erupted between Hector’s forces and the faction led by Valdez Villareal in the states of Guerrero and Morelos. In September 2010 Villarreal Barragán was arrested and towards the end of the year, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel had been severely weakened due to the arrests of important leaders and the fighting against the Valdez Villareal faction.
Both factions of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel use advanced weaponry such as grenade launchers, as well as guns, to battle each other. Torture, decapitations, and mutilations of the victims' bodies are common. Threatening messages to the group's leaders are often found next to the victims’ bodies.
The non-state conflict between the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel - Valdez Villareal faction is first included in UCDP data in 2010. In March of that year, clashes took place during one weekend in Guerro and resulted in more than 30 battle-related deaths.
