235 disappear without a trace

The plates of the diplomatic cars in Mexico They are on the lookout for crime and have so far disappeared. 235 of them that have been stolen, lost or misplaced in the country, between January 2007 to March 2024 and whose trail is unknown.

These data were obtained via transparency from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), whose figures reveal that, on averagea diplomatic plaque has disappeared within a monthaccording to N+.

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Diplomatic car license plates stolen in Mexico, on commission

These types of license plate thefts are not so common and They are made to orderbecause they are not a good that has a specific value in the illicit market, he points out. Manuel Balcazar, researcher at the Center for Studies in Security, Intelligence and Governance (CESIG) of ITAM.

Its aims, he says, could be associated with intelligence, counterintelligence and espionage from diplomatic representations of enemy countries.

Stealing diplomatic car plates to commit high-impact crimes

You have to resort to covert mechanisms and By stealing these plates, he can approach other diplomatic missions without being immediately detected.

However, it is not the only reason, they can also be used to place them in high-end vehicles and travel through exclusive residential areas to carry out some task. robbery or kidnapping.

“From a criminal perspective, stealing these plates can help you stay in certain places, carry out surveillance for robberies, eventually kidnap people who frequent those areas and not be detected“, points out the ITAM researcher.

Diplomatic car plates under siege by crime in Mexico: 235 disappear

To this he adds that They can camouflage themselves with diplomatic plates without being disturbed. by the authorities in the short term:

“Because it would also seem to me that if these plates were stolen while the procedures were being carried out, we would have a maximum window of opportunity.” 15 days for notification that were stolen.”

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Sensitive information that could be used by criminals

N + indicates that They did not provide details about the entity and diplomatic representation. to whom the missing diplomatic car plates belonged, and classified the information as confidential for a period of 5 years.

The argument is that it could cause damage to Mexico’s bilateral relations with other countries.

Providing the requested information, they say, would generate a loss of trust that would foreseeably may affect Mexico’s bilateral relations.

They add that this includes current and future negotiations that the Mexican government is holding on legal instruments, joint projects within and outside international organizations, candidacies in international organizations, as well as considerations related to trade and investment.

He also specified that would endanger to diplomatic representations, their vehicles and their personnel accredited in Mexico.

And his argument is that the information regarding the diplomatic plates could become known to organized crime groupswhich would try both to counteract the actions of the Mexican government in these matters and to take advantage of the breach of said information.

Diplomatic car license plate stolen from U.S. Embassy in Mexico

The past August 5, 2024 It was announced through the press that a license plate of a unit of the US Embassy was robbedwhile the consular employees were eating in a restaurant in Polancoin the Miguel Hidalgo municipality, in Mexico City.

The US embassy has not issued any statement or details on the process to recover it and punish those responsible.

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Manuel Balcazar, director of MB Consultores, points out that these robberies also show the vulnerabilities of public security in the country.

“That is, public space is not safe.. And this also leads to diplomatic officials feeling insecure and in turn expressing this to their countries.”

“Hay Many countries do not have the same rate of intentional homicides as Mexico.They don’t have the levels of violence that Mexico has, they don’t have the criminal groups that Mexico has.”

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