Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

1. Overview

Sources report that MS-13 is one of the "most notorious street gang[s] in the Western Hemisphere" (Insight Crime 2025-04-03), or a "transnational criminal organization primarily operating out of El Salvador" (Canada 2025-02-20), or a "[f]oreign [t]errorist [o]rganizatio[n]" operating in countries including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the US (US 2025-02-20).

According to an article on MS-13's exile to Mexico by El País, a Spanish-language international newspaper, although MS-13 has existed in Mexico for "more than two decades," a "crackdown on gangs" in 2022 by the Salvadoran government of President Nayib Bukele led "hundreds" of MS-13 and Barrio 18 [1] members to flee El Salvador for Mexico (2025-04-05). In an interview with the BBC, El Salvador's Minister of Security stated that between March 2022 and April 2025, approximately 2,800 MS-13 members left El Salvador, with Mexico among their [translation] "preferred destinations" (BBC 2025-05-22). The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), an independent civil society organization headquartered in Geneva (GI-TOC n.d.), notes that "Salvadoran mafia leaders seeking refuge" from government policies in El Salvador "have been known to operate from inside Mexico" (2023, 5).

Sources report that members of gangs such as MS-13 are not a [translation] "primary target" for Mexican police, who are focused on the violence between [cartel] groups (Diario del Sur 2024-06-10), or "MS-13 is not a national security priority for the Mexican federal government, as larger cartels … pose greater risks due to territorial scale and transnational operations" (Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14). The El País article similarly states, citing El Salvador's Transnational Anti-Gang Centre (Centro Antipandillas Transnacional, CAT) [2], that MS-13 chose Mexico as a refuge because, compared to cartels, gangs are perceived as a "lesser evil" there; however, "[i]n recent years," gang member arrests have gone up (2025-04-05).

The El País article further indicates that "[m]ost" Salvadoran gang members living in Mexico now hide their tattoos to avoid trouble, adding that "[n]owadays, there are gang members in Mexico, not gangs" (2025-04-05). In an interview with the BBC, Carlos García—a Mexican journalist and researcher who has conducted interviews with hundreds of MS-13 members inside and outside of Mexico (García 2025-07-16)—notes that while there are [translation] "active" members arriving in Mexico, there are also "many" former members who left the gang a long time ago but still have conspicuous tattoos (BBC 2023-04-03).

InSight Crime, a "think tank and media organization" that focuses on "organized crime and citizen security in the Americas" (InSight Crime n.d.), notes that while "large numbers" of gang members "appear to be" travelling to and through Mexico, "only" 36 Salvadorans "suspected" of being MS-13 or Barrio 18 members were deported between April 2022 and May 2023 (2023-12-06). Citing "active" Mexico-based MS-13 members, the same source adds that MS-13 members "are lying low and opting out of criminal activity to avoid drawing unwanted attention" (Insight Crime 2023-12-06). Chiapas-based news outlet Diario del Sur similarly notes that, to avoid being targeted by the state, some MS-13 members have employed [translation] "discre[tion]" while others, in contrast, have integrated into broader criminal networks (2024-10-23).

2. Group Structure in Mexico

Sources report that MS-13 is divided into cells, [or clicas (Infobae 2023-03-03)], which are in turn organized into [translation] "programs" (Infobae 2023-03-03; InSight Crime 2025-04-03) according to region or "historical links" (Infobae 2023-03-03). Sources report that MS-13's leadership, known as the Ranfla Nacional, established its Mexico Program in 2013 (El País 2025-04-05) or 2014 (Infobae 2023-03-03). El Faro, a Costa Rica-based news outlet that covers organized crime in Central America (El Faro n.d.), reports that the Mexico Program was intended to build connections with Mexican criminal groups (2024-06-13). According to Univisión, a Spanish-language television network in the US (EBSCO 2025), the intent was for the Mexico Program to better structure MS-13 operations in Mexico, facilitate communications with US-based leaders and members, increase the group's territorial reach, and serve as an alternative leadership structure in case the Salvadoran leaders were targeted by the government (2023-02-24).

In an interview with the Research Directorate, Carlos García stated that, since 2022, as a result of the security measures employed in El Salvador and the arrest and deportation of several leaders, the Mexico Program has been [translation] "dismantled" and "no longer exists" (García 2025-07-16). ProPublica, a US-based non-profit newsroom (ProPublica 2025, 2), notes that between 2021 and 2025, Mexican authorities deported 9 individuals to the US from a list of 27 MS-13 leaders named in indictments by the US Department of Justice for crimes including "conspiracy to support and finance narcoterrorism," terrorism, and narcotics trafficking (2025-06-12). According to García, what remains of the Mexico Program are scattered rudimentary and informal groups that communicate with each other to stay abreast of events in other members' lives (2025-07-16). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Areas of Influence and Operation

Citing the Transnational Anti-Gang Centre, El País states that by 2022 MS-13 "had a presence" in the states of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Veracruz (2025-04-05). Referring to the Guacamaya Leaks [3], a 2022 article by the Mexico-based news source Eje Central notes that MS-13 has a presence in Campeche and Chiapas (2022-10-05). Citing information from Mexico City's Ministry of Citizen Security (Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana), Guatemala-based news outlet Chapin TV reports that MS-13 activity has been detected in Mexico City as well as the states of Mexico, Guerrero, and Hidalgo (2023-04-21). Mexico-based digital news outlet La Silla Rota adds that, according to the Director of Friends of the Train (Amigos del Tren), a migrant aid organization based in Guanajuato State (Periódico Correo 2023-12-18), migrants reported the presence of MS-13 gang members in Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz (2024-08-18).

3.1. Chiapas

Sources note that Mexican authorities have reported an increased presence of MS-13 in Chiapas following the Salvadoran government's measures against MS-13 members in 2022 (El País 2025-04-05; AP 2023-01-25).

Sources report the presence of MS-13 in the following Chiapas municipalities:

• Arriaga (Contralínea 2023-03-15; Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Cacahoatán (Contralínea 2023-03-15)
• Chenalhó (Excélsior 2024-07-18)
• Ciudad Hidalgo (Contralínea 2023-03-15; Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Escuintla (Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Frontera Hidalgo (Contralínea 2023-03-15)
• Mapastepec (Contralínea 2023-03-15; Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Metapa de Domínguez (Contralínea 2023-03-15)
• Palenque (Contralínea 2023-03-15; Eje Central 2022-10-05)
• Pantelhó (Excélsior 2024-07-18)
• Suchiate (Eje Central 2022-10-05; Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Tapachula (Contralínea 2023-03-15; Eje Central 2022-10-05; Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14)
• Tuxtla Chico (Contralínea 2023-03-15)
• Tuxtla Gutiérrez (Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14).
  
  

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a researcher at the Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, who focuses on organized crime and security in Mexico, stated that MS-13 has been [translation] "especially" present in Tapachula and other municipalities along the migration route, including Arriaga and Tuxtla Gutiérrez (Researcher 2025-07-10). In an interview conducted by the Research Directorate with 2 senior analysts for Latin America and the Caribbean at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) [5], 1 senior analyst noted that Tapachula in particular has "been strategic" for MS-13 due to its location along the [Mexico-Guatemala] border; it has consequently made for a "useful transit point" for "extract[ing] extortion rents from the migrant population" (ACLED 2025-07-11).

According to the Director of Friends of the Train, cited in the 2024 article by La Silla Rota, migrants report that MS-13 members are extorting money from travellers along the route used by migrants and on board the train known as La Bestia [4], including in Chiapas (2024-08-18). Citing a local police officer, InSight Crime states that while MS-13 "once controlled" the freight trains passing through Tapachula, "they have [since] lost all their influence"; street gangs are still an "imposing force in Central America," but their power in Tapachula has been "severely overshadowed" by that of members of cartels (2024-06-20).

A June 2024 Diario del Sur article reports that the MS-13 gang members apprehended between January and June 2024 were living in [translation] "remote" neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Tapachula, where they were able to operate "without any problems" (2024-06-10). Diario del Sur adds in an October 2024 article that gangs such as MS-13 [translation] "continue to maintain a presence" in Chiapas, "especially" in rural areas (2024-10-23). El País notes, however, that "most gang members … now live in shantytowns, undocumented and hiding their tattoos" (2025-04-05). Similarly, according to García, the organization currently has no [translation] "area of influence" in Chiapas and members "are now trying to pass unnoticed" (2025-07-16).

3.2. Mexico City

Citing a report by the Ministry of Citizen Security, Mexico-based news publication El Universal states that MS-13 leaders have settled in Mexico City and formed ties with criminal organizations in Mexico City and Mexico State (2023-04-21). Sources report that in April 2023 MS-13's "second-in-command" was arrested in Mexico City (El País 2023-04-21; Reuters 2023-04-18); he had been hiding in Mexico City as well as in nearby Hidalgo State, according to the Ministry of Citizen Security (Reuters 2023-04-18). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of Lantia Intelligence, a Mexico City-based [translation] "data and analysis platform" studying security, organized crime, and social conflict (Lantia Intelligence n.d.), stated that while MS-13 cells "have been detected" in the Cuauhtémoc municipality of Mexico City, MS-13's activity in the city is "more limited" and the group is not as "entrench[ed]" as along the southern border (Lantia Intelligence 2025-07-14). When asked about MS-13's areas of operation in Mexico City, García responded that while there are [translation] "many" MS-13 members taking refuge in the neighbouring state of Mexico [which includes several suburbs of Mexico City], MS-13 does not have an area of influence (2025-07-16).

According to the Researcher, MS-13 does not have a [translation] "defined territory" in Mexico City, nor does it have a "significant or permanent presence" there (2025-07-10). The source goes on to note, however, that because of the city's size and the number of people passing through, it [translation] "makes sense" that there are gang members living there, "especially" those in hiding or those monitoring migrant caravans and "trying to extort" Salvadorans, Hondurans and Guatemalans living in the city (Researcher 2025-07-10).

4. Activities and Targets

4.1. Chiapas

Lantia Intelligence stated that MS-13 has a "broad criminal portfolio in Chiapas"; their activities include drug trafficking, human smuggling and migrant extortion, vehicle theft, vandalism, firearms trafficking, and extortion of transportation providers (2025-07-14). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Tapachula-based Fray Matías Human Rights Centre of Córdova (Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Matías de Córdova, FrayMa) [6], when asked about the potential targeting of migrants by MS-13 in Chiapas, noted that over the past 3 years it had documented migrants reporting "cases" of extortion, death threats and assault by MS-13 and Barrio 18 members (FrayMa 2025-07-18). The ACLED Senior Analysts stated that "in recent years" their organization has recorded "much fewer" cases of violence attributed to MS-13 members (ACLED 2025-07-11).

According to a report by Univisión, which cites charges laid against MS-13 leaders by the US Department of Justice, MS-13 members [translation] "patrol" areas along La Bestia's route and board the train itself, extorting payments for "'safe passage'" from travellers; those who refuse to pay are thrown off the train, which "frequently" results in injury or death (2023-02-24). La Silla Rota states, citing the Director of Friends of the Train, that migrants from Central and South America have reported extortion by MS-13 members along the train's route (2024-08-18). Univisión adds, once again citing the US Department of Justice, that MS-13 also uses its surveillance of the train to locate [translation] "rivals" from Barrio 18 and MS-13 "deserters" who left their countries without permission (2023-02-23). According to the ACLED Senior Analysts, "rival gang members" are targets along migration travel routes (ACLED 2025-07-11). In contrast, García stated, when asked about violence between MS-13 and Barrio 18 in Chiapas, that the gangs have "no intention of fighting" and there is "no longer any rivalry" (2025-07-16).

Sources indicate that MS-13 no longer controls the train route through Chiapas (InSight Crime 2024-06-20; García 2025-07-16). According to InSight Crime, which cites a local police officer, in Tapachula MS-13 members "'[a]t most … sell drugs they buy from [cartels] and help smuggle migrants'" (2024-06-20). Other sources report that some MS-13 and Barrio 18 members in Mexico have begun "drug dealing or contract killing for cartels" (El País 2025-04-05) or have joined organized crime groups [translation] "as security forces or hitmen" (Diario del Sur 2024-10-23). According to Contralínea, a Mexican news magazine, MS-13 members' [translation] "primar[y]" criminal activities in the city of Palenque are drug dealing and migrant extortion, though they may also engage in assault, robbery and murder (2023-03-15). García noted that whereas in the past MS-13 members would assault and extort migrants, such incidents have become less common; MS-13 is currently "not very present" as a criminal organization in Chiapas (2025-07-16). The same source added that some members may be dealing drugs or working as contract killers for Mexican criminal organizations, while others have found jobs outside the criminal economy (García 2025-07-16).

According to sources, MS-13 members have engaged in "violent" (S-RM 2023-07-17) or "terror-based" (AP 2023-01-25) extortion against [public (AP 2023-01-25)] transportation drivers (S-RM 2023-07-17; AP 2023-01-25). Diario del Sur adds that MS-13 members have also committed extortion against business owners (2024-10-23). News reports note that in January 2023 [translation] "suspected" MS-13 gang members set fire to an empty public transit vehicle in Cacahoatán (Diario del Sur 2024-06-10; Excélsior 2023-01-04). Diario del Sur notes in a different article that in 2022, 3 out of 4 public transportation companies operating between the Chiapas municipalities of Escuintla and Tapachula were targeted for extortion by [translation] "alleged" MS-13 and Barrio 18 gang members (2022-10-26). InSight Crime notes that despite a "possible increase in extortion" by "Central American gangs, including the MS13," no MS-13 members were prosecuted in Chiapas between October 2022 and February 2023 (2023-12-06).

4.2. Mexico City

Information on the activities and targets of MS-13 in Mexico City was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to Chapin TV, MS-13 has been detected in Mexico City and its activities include dealing drugs and firearms (2023-04-21).

García stated that MS-13 members' activities in Mexico City follow [translation] "the same logic" observed in Chiapas: some members engage in various criminal activities on their own behalf or that of Mexican criminal organizations, while others seek livelihoods outside the criminal economy (2025-07-16). The Researcher noted that while the presence of MS-13 members in Mexico City was [translation] "minimal," MS-13 members in the city have targeted migrants through "extortion" and "kidnappings"; individuals from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are targets for extortion (2025-07-10). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

5. Alliances Within and Outside Mexico, Including Those Influencing the Ability to Track Targets

According to the GI-TOC, because of the "extreme territoriality" characterizing Mexico's criminal landscape, foreign criminal actors operating in the country "primarily engage in business dealings and other forms of collaboration with Mexican drug cartels" (GI-TOC 2023, 5). Commenting on an indictment from January 2021 against various MS-13 leaders by the US Department of Justice, the US Embassy in El Salvador stated that in Mexico "MS-13 leaders made connections to obtain narcotics and firearms, conducted business with Mexican drug cartels such as the Zetas, Gulf Cartel (Cártel del Golfo), Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, CJNG) and Sinaloa Cartel, and engaged in human trafficking and smuggling" (US 2021-01-14).

For information on drug cartels, particularly Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, the CJNG, and the Beltrán-Leyva Organization (BLO), see Response to Information Request MEX202394 of August 2025.

5.1. Chiapas

Lantia Intelligence stated that as of mid-2025, there are no "confirmed" "formal" alliances between MS-13 and "major Mexican cartels"; rather, there are territorial disputes and rivalries that limit MS-13 to "fragmented cells" (2025-07-14).

The information in the following paragraph was provided by the Senior Analysts at ACLED:

MS-13 has "collaborated" with Los Zetas [7] and the CJNG in the past, but any relationships with cartels are "mostly opportunistic." Its members will sometimes act as subcontractors to the Mexican criminal groups, and this can contribute to "identif[ying] targets." "In general terms, the strength of the MS-13 is in its own network rather than the alliances with Mexican groups." In Chiapas, the organization's own network is such that there is "a likelihood that MS-13 could track down" an individual in that region (ACLED 2025-07-11).

In an interview with the Research Directorate, an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Montreal, who focuses on organized crime groups in Mexico, noted that the organization's knowledge of local police forces and its networks in Tapachula mean there is a "higher chance of finding someone in that city"; however, it would be more difficult to do so in other parts of Chiapas because of the state's size and rurality (Assistant Professor 2025-07-15). The same source added that while MS-13 may have the ability to track someone, for example by paying for help from the cartels or state security forces, an individual targeted for extortion would not be important enough to dedicate the time and resources (Assistant Professor 2025-07-15). According to García, MS-13 previously had relationships with the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas as part of the Mexico Program, through which it sold drugs and purchased firearms, but the Program is now dismantled (2025-07-16).

5.2. Mexico City

Information on MS-13's alliances within and outside Mexico City was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Citing reports from Mexico City's Ministry of Citizen Security, El Universal notes that MS-13's former [translation] "second-in-command" had links with the Unión Tepito [8] to coordinate drug and firearms dealing (2023-04-21). According to the Researcher, the alliance between MS-13 and Unión Tepito is [translation] "very likely" ongoing, especially regarding the exploitation of the migrant population; as a major organization in Mexico City, Unión Tepito can provide the protection that MS-13 requires to operate in the migrant camps (2025-07-10). The same source added that Unión Tepito has an extensive network of contacts in Mexico City, allowing them to more effectively locate individuals (Researcher 2025-07-10). However, García indicated, when asked about the relationship between Unión Tepito and MS-13, that they had not found evidence linking the 2 organizations beyond the above-mentioned article by El Universal (2025-07-16).

6. State Response

According to the GI-TOC, the Mexican authorities' efforts to rely on "militarization" to address organized crime have "been symbolic" and have yielded "little success" (2023, 6). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023 notes that while Mexican authorities have investigated "some" of the crimes committed by "[c]riminal elements," including transnational gangs, "the majority remained uninvestigated and unprosecuted" (US 2024-04-22, 2). Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2024, which "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries," states that there is "near-total impunity in Mexico, with 97% of crimes going unpunished" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2024, 2, 6).

ProPublica reports that between 2021 and 2025, Mexican authorities deported 9 MS-13 leaders to the US; the individuals were among 27 high-ranking members named in indictments by the US Department of Justice (2025-06-12). Additionally, a tally by El País indicates that Mexican authorities arrested 42 MS-13 members between March 2022 and March 2025, including at least 3 of the gang's leaders (2025-04-05).

6.1. Chiapas

Citing [translation] "sources close to the [Chiapas] State Attorney General's Office [Fiscalía General del Estado, FGE]," Diario del Sur reports that corruption has been a major obstacle to dismantling criminal networks in the state, as has its "complex" terrain (2024-10-23). According to another article by the same source, the Suchiate River [which connects Guatemala and Mexico] provides the [translation] "easiest" entry into Mexico for MS-13 members, either due to the municipal police's inattention or "cooperat[ion]" (Diario del Sur 2024-06-10). García added that, due to the corruption of local authorities, MS-13 members can obtain [translation] "papers" to provide them with legitimacy in the country (2025-07-16).

Sources report that in March 2025 [in Chiapas (El Universal 2025-03-22)], Mexican authorities arrested a MS-13 member who was wanted in El Salvador for gang membership and extortion; they were subsequently deported to El Salvador (Diario del Sur 2025-03-23; El Universal 2025-03-22). According to a press release by the office of the State Attorney General of Chiapas, from January to September 2022, state authorities arrested 148 MS-13 and Barrio 18 members, including 61 Mexican, 50 Salvadoran, 15 Honduran and 14 Guatemalan nationals (Chiapas 2022-10-02). The press release further indicates that during that same period state authorities opened 87 investigations for drug trafficking and 34 for unlawful possession of a firearm and prosecuted 9 MS-13 and Barrio 18 members for crimes including battery and aggravated theft (Chiapas 2022-10-02). Citing reports from the Chiapas Attorney General's Office on Immigrants (Fiscalía de Inmigrantes) and the National Migration Institute (Instituto Nacional de Migración), Diario del Sur states that [translation] "at least" 15 gang members were detained in 2023, "most" of whom had arrest warrants issued by the Transnational Anti-Gang Centre in El Salvador for crimes such as homicide and gang membership (2024-06-10). However, citing "data provided by Chiapas authorities," InSight Crime notes "no significant increase" in MS-13 members jailed in Chiapas since the start of the state of emergency in El Salvador in 2022 (2023-12-06).

According to Lantia Intelligence, there have been "selective state-level and international efforts" targeting MS-13 that have emerged, including in Chiapas; for example, the FBI led anti-gang workshops in Chiapas in March 2025 (2025-07-14). Other sources similarly report that in March 2025 staff in the Chiapas State Attorney General's Office participated in workshops facilitated by the FBI, providing training and information on MS-13 and Barrio 18 members (Chiapas 2025-03-12; La Jornada 2025-03-13). A press release from the office of the State Attorney General of Chiapas adds that in 2022 their office signed an agreement with the US Department of Justice to create the Special Anti-Gang Force (Fuerza Especial Antipandillas) to combat gangs in Chiapas (Chiapas 2022-10-05). FrayMa stated that Chiapas has an Anti-Gang Group, which operates in coastal border municipalities and maintains ongoing operations in Tapachula (FrayMa 2025-07-18). According to sources, the [translation] "Anti-Gang Group" (Diario del Sur 2024-03-28), or "Special Anti-Gang Force" (Rule of Law Coordinator 2025-07-24), is a unit attached to the state police (Diario del Sur 2024-03-28; Rule of Law Coordinator 2025-07-24).

Citing the Chiapas State Attorney General's Office and the State Ministry of Citizen Safety and Protection (Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana, SSPC), an article by the Mexico-based daily newspaper La Jornada, written by Edgar H. Clemente, indicates that as a result of crime prevention efforts by the Anti-Gang Group, Mexican authorities arrested 2 MS-13 members seeking to set up a new base of operations along Mexico's southern border (2024-02-09). An Associated Press (AP) article, also written by Edgar H. Clemente, reports that Mexican authorities have also deployed police at transport hubs and mobilized an "additional 350 soldiers to communities along the Guatemalan border" to address violence and extortion across Chiapas (2023-01-25).

6.2. Mexico City

Information on state response to MS-13 or its members in Mexico City was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to sources, in March 2025 Mexican authorities arrested an MS-13 leader in Texcoco, Mexico State—an [translation] "eastern suburb" of Mexico City (AP 2021-02-22)–for whom both the FBI and the Salvadoran authorities had an arrest warrant (El País 2025-03-14; TV Azteca 2025-03-14). According to the Researcher, while authorities in Mexico City have made a small number of arrests, there is no [translation] "systematic" monitoring or intelligence work on MS-13 members (2025-07-10).

7. State Protection

According to the GI-TOC, "Mexico's victim and witness support mechanisms are lacking" and pay "little attention" to supporting victims (2023, 7). Lantia Intelligence noted that while Mexico has state-level witness protection frameworks, their "effectiveness in gang-related cases remains limited and inconsistent" (2025-07-14). The Researcher added that due to their precarious legal status, migrants rarely report theft, extortion or other crimes (2025-07-10). The Assistant Professor indicated that state protection mechanisms are "extremely limited" in Mexico, "especially" for non-Mexican migrant communities (2025-07-15).

7.1. Chiapas and Mexico City

Information on state protection mechanisms available for victims and witnesses of crimes in Chiapas and Mexico City by MS-13 or its members was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to Lantia Intelligence, victims in Chiapas and Mexico City rarely report crimes owing to a "fear of retaliation and lack of trust in local institutions" (2025-07-14). When asked about state protection mechanisms for migrants that may be victims or witnesses of potential crimes by MS-13 or its members in Chiapas, FrayMa stated that access to protection and justice is [translation] "generally" "limited" for migrant victims of crimes (2025-07-18). The organization added that migrants in Chiapas currently do not have the option to file a criminal complaint because the Chiapas State Attorney General's Office on Immigrants only records incidents and does not open investigations (FrayMa 2025-07-18). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] Barrio 18 [18th Street Gang, Mara 18] is a "well-established international criminal organization and violent street gang" (US 2024-12-09) or "one of the largest youth gangs in the Western Hemisphere" with "cells operating from Central America to Canada" (InSight Crime 2023-11-14). ^[back]

[2] The Transnational Anti-Gang Centre is a unit embedded within El Salvador's National Civil Police (Policía Nacional Civil) that receives financial and technical support from the FBI as of 2020 (US 2020-08-17). ^[back]

[3] The Guacamaya Leaks refers to the October 2022 dissemination of military information stemming from computer hackings of Mexico's Ministry of National Defence (Secretaría de Defensa Nacional) by a hacking group named Guacamaya (BBC 2022-10-06). ^[back]

[4] La Bestia (The Beast) is a network of freight trains in Mexico known for transporting migrants who hope to cross into the US (Infobae 2023-09-20). The train, which has three different routes, winds its way from southern to northern Mexico, and makes stops in Tapachula and Tonalá in Chiapas, among many other cities across the country (Infobae 2023-09-20). ^[back]

[5] ACLED is a US-based non-profit organization that collects data on political violence and protest around the world (ACLED n.d.). ^[back]

[6] FrayMa is a human rights NGO that works with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, among other populations (FrayMa 2020-09). ^[back]

[7] Following "infighting and the loss of key leaders," Los Zetas have become "a fragmented force, held together by little more than a name and increasingly dependent on local [rather than transnational] criminal revenues" (InSight Crime 2024-08-30). ^[back]

[8] Unión Tepito is [translation] "the largest and strongest criminal organization operating in Mexico City" (elsalvador.com 2023-04-22). ^[back]

References

Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). 2025-07-11. Interview with 2 senior analysts.

Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). N.d. "About ACLED." [Accessed 2025-07-10]

Assistant Professor, University of Montreal. 2025-07-15. Interview with the Research Directorate.

Associated Press (AP). 2023-01-25. Edgar H. Clemente. "Central American Gangs Raising Fears in Southern Mexico." [Accessed 2025-06-24]

Associated Press (AP). 2021-02-22. "Presidente de México critica auditorías a sus proyectos." [Accessed 2025-07-22]

Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2024. "Mexico Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2024. [Accessed 2025-07-03]

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Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas; Chiapas – Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chiapas, Fiscalía General del Estado de Chiapas; founder and president of IBI Consultants; freelance journalist with a focus on violence, migration, organized crime and corruption in Central America; Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho; independent journalist based in Latin America with a focus on drugs and organized crime; independent researcher with a focus on Central American gangs, including MS-13; InSight Crime; International Crisis Group; journalist and editor who has written about MS-13; journalist who focuses on migration and human rights-related issues in Mexico; journalist who focuses on organized crime in Mexico City; journalists who focus on MS-13; Mexico – Embassy in Canada; Mexico City – Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México; researcher and professor at a college in Mexico who focuses on migration; social scientist at a university in Mexico who focuses on migration, violence and security in Latin America.

Internet Sites, including: Alerta Chiapas; Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; Animal Político; Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas; Chiapas – Congreso del Estado de Chiapas; Ciudadanía Express; CNN; Contracorriente; Council on Foreign Relations; Crashout Media; Cuarto Poder; Debate Chiapas; Diario Puntual; Divergentes; El Financiero; El Heraldo de Juárez; El Independiente; Freedom House; The Guardian; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Julio Astillero; La Prensa [Honduras]; Los Angeles Times; Mexico – El Colegio de la Frontera Sur; Mexico City – Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana de la CDMX; Milenio; N+Noticias; The New York Times; Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project; Proceso; Redacción Regional; Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina y El Caribe, España y Portugal; Republica; Servicio Internacional para La Paz; SinEmbargo; Small Wars Journal; SWI swissinfo.ch; Tuxtla Digital; Time Magazine; US – Office of Justice Programs; Vice; Voice of America; Vox; Washington Office on Latin America; Washington Post; Washington Times; Zona Franca.