Report Highlights Criminal Income from Human Trafficking
The report “Migration in Mexico in Trump’s Era: Threats and Subordination” by Signos Vitales revealed that in 2023, criminal organizations earned approximately $6.079 billion from human trafficking.
This amount is the highest ever recorded, directly linked to the increase in migrants paying over $9,000 to intermediaries for crossing the border into the United States. The report estimates around 648,271 illegal crossings to the U.S. in 2023 (approximately 74 crossings per hour). It’s important to note that Mexican armed forces recorded over 2.1 million detentions in the same year, twice as many as reported by migration authorities.
Criminal Organizations Benefit from Mexico’s Containment Policy
The report emphasized that transnational criminal organizations have capitalized on Mexico’s containment policy, turning the country into a strategic corridor for both irregular transit and operations by groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Criminal groups have established their own business environment, with migrant routes largely overlapping those of fuel theft (huachicol). This phenomenon is due to their need for additional services, such as transportation, which heavily relies on gasoline, diesel, and occasionally jet fuel (tax-free and difficult to detect). They also require control over extensive national territories.
Significant Increase in Migrant Detentions
Mexico has seen a substantial rise in migrant detentions, according to Signos Vitales. Between January 2019 and August 2024, during Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration, 2.72 million migrants were detained—a 230% increase compared to Peña Nieto’s term and a 434% increase from Calderón’s term.
In the first two months of Claudia Sheinbaum’s presidency, 349,625 individuals were reportedly detained by migration authorities.
Rising Remittances Collected by Foreigners in Mexico
Another key finding highlighted the consistent growth in remittances collected by foreigners residing in Mexico.
“According to Financiera para el Bienestar (Finabien), the amount collected by foreigners (residents in Mexico) through remittances grew by 103.6% in real terms between 2018 and 2023,” the report explained. The amount increased from 101 to 250.6 million Mexican pesos during this period.
26.2% of this money was collected by U.S. and Canadian citizens, while 73.8% came from individuals of over 150 nationalities.
- Question: What are the top 14 nations predominantly responsible for remittances in Mexico by foreigners in 2023?
- Answer: The United States ($61.8 million), Venezuela ($50.6 million), Haiti ($31.9 million), Colombia ($14.5 million), Cuba ($11.3 million), Ecuador ($10.5 million), Honduras ($7.2 million), Russia ($5.2 million), Nicaragua ($4 million), Argentina ($3.8 million), Peru ($3.8 million), Canada ($3.7 million), El Salvador ($3 million), and Guatemala ($2.7 million).
Venezuelan remittances grew by 419.4% in real terms during the mentioned period. Although they were a significant group five years ago, their growth rate surpasses that of any other nationality, including Mexicans.
Argentinians, however, have lost prominence; they were third in remittance receipts in 2018 with 7.4 million pesos, but their share decreased significantly compared to other nationalities’ advancements.
Geographically, 89.1% of the total remittances collected by foreigners were concentrated in just ten entities: Nuevo León ($62.8 million), Mexico City ($25.9 million), Oaxaca ($18.7 million), Tamaulipas ($14.6 million), Quintana Roo ($13.5 million), Chiapas ($10.6 million), Sonora ($7.2 million), Chihuahua ($6.1 million), Querétaro ($2.9 million), and Jalisco ($2.7 million).
Although these states account for the majority, some states experienced significant growth in remittances collected by foreigners: Zacatecas (1,438.6%), Campeche (283%), and Tlaxcala (249.8%).
