“For security reasons, we had restricted circulation at night on the Amozoc – La Esperanza highway, but now it doesn’t matter if it’s 7 or 10 am, we have suffered robberies. No strategy is working, the worrying thing is that the intelligence of the authorities does not allow them to act in this area ,” shares with frustration and some resignation a transport entrepreneur who has suffered vehicle theft in the aforementioned region.
The Amozoc – La Esperanza route is almost a guarantee for transporters who travel on this highway that they will suffer robberies. According to Overhaul , a firm specializing in security and logistics, it was anticipated that since the beginning of 2024, Puebla would be the entity with the most robberies in the country, displacing the State of Mexico as the most affected.
In the cumulative period from January to September 2024, Puebla accounted for 31% of the robberies to motor transport, followed by the State of Mexico with 22% of the participation in the crimes.
And within Puebla, Overhaul identifies that precisely the Amozoc – La Esperanza section is the most dangerous and where the most incidents are recorded.
“After we were robbed, and it was not even 10 in the morning, our operator reported to us that on that day alone, eight units had already been stolen. What we are all wondering is why there is no reaction from the first tractor-trailer that was affected,” reiterates the same transporter when consulted.
A factor that not only this affected carrier, but also other carriers affected in the region, agree on is that the focus of the crime is the vehicles, even leaving loads on the roads.
“What draws our attention is that in a period of half an hour the tractor-trailers are taken to various workshops that are already in the region and the vehicles are stripped, but we cannot find them. The order is the parts,” said another transporter who has been affected in the Amozoc – La Esperanza area.
The frustration for transporters also lies in the fact that logistically there is no option to find alternative routes. “It is unaffordable to go around to the port of Veracruz via Xalapa, to later return to the junction to go to the southeast, whether it is called Coatzacoalcos or Mérida, it seems that criminal gangs also have a clear idea of this,” said one of the businessmen consulted.
This stretch of road has been highlighted in various forums and even by different organizations linked to transportation, so that federal and state authorities focus on solving the insecurity situation , however, the risk for this activity prevails.
