According to a report by Mongabay, the illegal expansion of palm oil production in Mexico, particularly in the areas Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, and Veracruz, has led to significant deforestation. Between 2014 and 2019, at least 5,400 hectares of forests and jungle were lost due to oil palm cultivation. Now, the plantations are beginning to encroach on protected areas, such as the La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve. During the 1990s, Mexican state programmes promoted palm oil cultivation, emphasising its superior economic benefits. This has pushed farmers towards the commodity, which has been very profitable for local communities. But now, research indicates that oil palm plantations have replaced not only cattle pastures and agricultural lands but also young forests and high jungle areas. Significant deforestation has been detected in municipalities like Benemérito de las Américas, Marqués de Comillas, Palenque, and Salto de Agua, and has affected critical ecosystems. As major companies begin to expand beyond permit areas, acquisition is becoming increasingly illegal, sometimes carried out without proper authorisation for land-use changes.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, palm oil, primary production, illegal deforestation, illegal production
Sources: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/palm-oil-the-crop-that-cuts-into-southeastern-mexicos-jungles-and-mangroves/
The article titled “Caffeine Jungle: Child labour, struggling farmers found on ‘ethically’ certified coffee farms in southern Mexico” published on ABC News, uncovers the harsh realities behind the ‘ethically’ certified coffee farms in southern Mexico. The investigation by “Impact x Nightline” found evidence of child labour and farmers living in poverty on multiple ethically certified coffee farms. Children as young as 6-years-old were found working on a Rainforest Alliance-certified farm in Chiapas, Mexico in 2021. One boy, aged 12, had been working the harvest for two months without access to a school. This is in violation of Mexico’s minimum age for working, which is 15, and Rainforest Alliance policies that mandate children who live on their member farms must be in school or childcare while their parents work. Adult farmers from other small-scale Rainforest Alliance farms reported struggling to provide enough food for their families. It was not unusual for children to work on the farms and help their families. Fernando Bautista, the Rainforest Alliance’s regional lead for Chiapas, initially claimed that his organization keeps an eye on its farms to ensure that children aren’t working, but when presented with videos and photos of the kids on their farm, he acknowledged that not all of the farms they certify are inspected.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, coffee, primary production, child labour, labour rights violations
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/caffeine-jungle-child-labor-struggling-farmers-found-ethically/story?id=91735230
According to InSight Crime, drug cartels in Mexico have expanded their activities into illegal logging, particularly in the forested areas of Chihuahua. This area is a significant part of the drug trafficking corridor known as the Golden Triangle. This growing overlap between illegal logging and drug trafficking is severely affecting Indigenous communities, especially the Tarahumara. The report cites a case where individuals were forced off their land by armed groups, highlighting the dangers faced by those opposing illegal logging. The cartel has become actively involved in illegal logging to clear land for poppy cultivation, pushing inhabitants off their ancestral lands. The situation in Chihuahua is exacerbated by widespread violence and corruption, with drug cartels, competing over the control over both drug and illegal timber routes. This violence has led to high homicide rates, with criminal groups targeting anyone opposing their activities. In addition, the article details the methods used by cartels to control the illegal timber trade, including extortion and violent takeovers of sawmills. In the town of San Juanito, a hub for wood trafficking, drug cartels have infiltrated the industry, forcing sawmills to process illegally sourced wood and laundering it into the legal supply chain.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, timber, primary production, illegal logging, drug trafficking, corruption and bribery, murder, extortion, Indigenous rights violations
Sources: https://insightcrime.org/investigations/drug-cartels-illegal-logging-mexico/
Javier Duarte, former governor of Veracruz, Mexico, is implicated in a scheme where cattle ranching was used to launder money embezzled from public funds. An investigation by Animal Político found Duarte and his network purchased expensive cattle and large ranches, using them to clean hundreds of millions of pesos. This process allowed them to integrate illicit funds into the legitimate economy by taking advantage of the agricultural sector’s cash-based transactions and lax oversight.
Duarte, who governed from 2010 to 2016, had previously been convicted in 2018 for criminal association and money laundering, receiving a nine-year prison sentence. His case underscores the vulnerability of agriculture, especially cattle ranching, to financial crimes in Mexico. The revelations reflect ongoing difficulties in curbing corruption and organised crime, which increasingly infiltrate legitimate businesses to obscure the origins of illicit profits.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, cattle, primary production, money laundering, agriculture, organised crime, corruption and bribery
Source: https://insightcrime.org/news/governor-cattle-money-laundering-mexico/
According to Mongabay, the expansion of the soy industry in Hopelchén, Campeche, Mexico has led to devastating levels of deforestation of the Mayan jungle over the past two decades. The region lost at least 153,809 hectares of tree cover, driven by the rise of industrial agriculture and land privatisation. Despite the lack of official authorisation for deforestation, satellite images reveal extensive illegal clearing, primarily by Mennonite colonies, who have transformed vast forest areas into soy fields since 2004. This illegal deforestation has led to severe environmental degradation, including loss of biodiversity and disruption of local ecosystems. In addition, government policies and subsidies, such as those for productive conversion and contract agriculture, have further incentivised soy cultivation, notably by large-scale producers, at the expense of traditional corn farming and forest preservation. The unregulated deforestation has also affected the livelihoods of local communities, particularly beekeepers. Their income and way of life depend on the forest. However, the intensive use of pesticides associated with soy cultivation has led to significant bee deaths, triggering legal battles and community resistance. The devastation in Hopelchén is mirrored in other parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, with similar patterns of deforestation observed in municipalities like Tizimín and Bacalar.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, soy, primary production, deforestation, illegal deforestation
Sources: https://es.mongabay.com/2022/08/soya-deforestacion-en-la-selva-maya-en-mexico/
A report by Global Initiative details the shift in crime from drug cultivation to illegal logging in the Sierra Tarahumara region of Chihuahua, Mexico, due to decreased demand for opium gum. Drug Trafficking Organisations (DTOs) began heavily involving themselves in illegal logging around 2014-2015. DTOs can earn between MXN 50,000–70,000 per night from illegal logging, exploiting workers under threats of violence. Local mafias were also involved in this shift, albeit operating on a smaller scale compared to DTOs and rarely resorting to violence. They control logging operations, sawmills, and transportation, often involving familial clans. DTOs, on the other hand, engage in a range of criminal activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, and extreme acts of violence, including massacres and beheadings. Indigenous communities and environmental activists are heavily impacted by such threats and violence. They face displacement due to violence and land grabs by criminal groups. In addition, illegal logging and the cultivation of illicit crops contribute to significant deforestation. Finally, criminal groups use bribes and threats to secure cooperation from authorities. Local institutions often lack the resources and capacity to effectively combat organised crime.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, timber, primary production, illegal logging, drug trafficking, organised crime, corruption and bribery, land grabbing, Indigenous rights violations, murder, extortion, labour rights violations
Sources: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Mexican.Illegal.Logging.22.04.v1.final_.pdf
The article titled “Illegal logging takes big toll on Mexico City’s crucial forests” published on NBC News, uncovers the devastating impact of illegal logging on the forest-covered southern half of Mexico City. The forests, which recharge aquifers supplying nearly 20 million people and help clean the city’s polluted air, have been severely depleted. Alfredo Gutiérrez, a local resident, laments that the forest has been “finished off”. The article suggests that organised crime gangs may have moved into the illegal logging business, possibly due to the federal government’s crackdown on the sale of contraband gasoline and diesel. In response, Mexico City authorities have identified criminal groups behind illegal logging and have mounted operations involving hundreds of police officers and soldiers who raided clandestine sawmills in the mountains.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, timber, primary production, illegal logging, organised crime
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/illegal-logging-takes-big-toll-mexico-citys-crucial-forests-rcna102121
A report by Global Initiative details the many labour rights violations related to child labour, forced labour and discriminatory practices in Chihuahua, Mexico’s forestry sector. In Chihuahua, organised crime groups, including drug cartels, forcibly recruit individuals, particularly young people, for illegal activities, including illegal logging. These workers endure exploitative conditions that include involuntary work, forced overtime, and hazardous environments. Organised crime groups exert control over them through threats, violence, and drug addiction, fostering a climate of coercion. In addition, child labour is prevalent in Chihuahua’s forestry sector, particularly in rural areas where children often work alongside their parents to supplement family income. Children engaged in forestry work are exposed to dangerous work conditions, including handling heavy loads, exposure to sawdust, and working with machinery. Systemic discrimination against indigenous people and women is widespread in the sector. Indigenous workers are often paid less, subjected to the most dangerous tasks, and excluded from leadership positions. Women, particularly Indigenous women, face significant barriers to employment in logging and sawmill operations.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, timber, primary production labour rights violations, drug trafficking, child labour, forced labour, discrimination, illegal logging, Indigenous rights violations
Sources: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Mexican.Illegal.Logging.22.04.v1.final_.pdf
The article titled “Are Mexican Avocados The Next ‘Conflict Commodity’?” published on The Guardian, discusses the dark side of the booming avocado industry in Mexico. The industry, which is a multibillion-dollar one for Mexico, the world’s largest producer, has attracted the attention of organised crime groups due to its profitability. These groups engage in both extortion and direct cultivation, usually on lands taken over from local farmers or carved out from protected woodlands. The state of Michoacán, a long-standing hotbed for criminal violence, is particularly affected. The article draws parallels between the avocado industry and conflict minerals, highlighting the increasing risk of association with killings, modern slavery, child labour, and environmental degradation when dealing with Michoacán suppliers and growers. The article also mentions the rise in violence due to turf wars among more than 12 criminal groups, including the notoriously violent Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, fighting for control over the avocado-producing regions and transport routes1.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, avocados, modern slavery, child labour, organised crime, murder
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/30/are-mexican-avocados-the-worlds-new-conflict-commodity
The case of Mexico’s avocado industry offers a compelling example of how economic opportunities can intertwine with illicit activities. Mexico is the largest supplier of avocados to the US, earning the fruit the moniker “green gold.” Michoacán, a major avocado-growing region, has seen extensive deforestation, land conversion, and water scarcity as forests are cleared to make way for profitable avocado farms.
The local government’s Forest Guardian initiative identified 817 illegal avocado orchards, highlighting the scale of the problem. These illegal orchards came under scrutiny from the US ambassador to Mexico in early 2024, Ken Salazar, as he highlighted the need for stringent traceability measures to combat the export of avocados from illegal orchards to the US.
The avocado trade from Mexico to the US has experienced significant growth, increasing from 121,600 metric tons in 2019 to approximately 135,000 in 2022. According to Climate Rights International (CRI), four out of five avocados consumed in the United States are imported from Mexico. This surge in demand has led to the widespread establishment of the illegal avocado orchards previously mentioned, often at the expense of the environment and local communities.
The lucrative nature of the avocado trade has continued to attract the attention of organised crime cartels, which have diversified their activities over the years. For instance, cartels in the region have infiltrated the avocado trade, imposing “protection” fees on farmers, and their activities include illegal logging, extortion, kidnapping, arms trafficking and even murder. The profits from these activities are used to finance their broader criminal operations, embedding the avocado trade within a network of illicit financial flows.
Keywords: Latin America, Mexico, avocados, organised crime, illegal logging, extortion, murder
Sources: https://insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Romain-Le-Cour-Grandmaison-Paul-Frissard-Martinez-Violent-and-vibrant-Mexicos-avocado-boom-and-organized-crime.-GI-TOC-January-2024.pdf
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/mexicos-avocados-and-arms-trafficking-criminal-combination-suffocating-michoacan
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-drought-avocados-dried-up-lakes-faaad63fdf0d3f3cba7b33fb0456c053
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-avocados-grown-illegal-orchards-should-not-be-exported-us-ambassador-2024-02-26/