It was hard to live over a year without power and running water,” the man told journalists. “I didn’t want to leave because I still have to take care of my sister and my uncle, and not to leave them all. There are sick people here, elderly, I don’t need to live (like) this, but I do it for them. We’re a family now.”

Experts said it’s impossible to know the true scale of displacement in a country where conflict continues to increase and the government hasn’t done enough to address the root causes.

“It’s difficult to assess whether the phenomenon is becoming more common or simply whether displacement is becoming more visible, said Alvaro Sardiza, monitoring expert for the Americas at the International Displacement Monitoring Center.

Graber Ladek said Mexico is a “very unique country in terms of migration dynamics” because of its geography and where it is located.

It’s also a major country of transit, so there are many individuals who are passing through Mexico, the majority of those who have the U.S. as their destination,” she said. “And of course, it’s a country of return. Those people who are just deported, expelled, or choose to return to Mexico.

While there are other reasons for forced displacement in Mexico, the presence of heavily armed and powerful crime organizations is a big one.

Throughout the years, Michoacán has been a strategic place for criminal organizations to boost their illegal businesses. It’s home to the Lázaro Cárdenas port, a gateway for shipments of precursor chemicals from Asia used in the production of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl.

Battles for territory have left deep scars on innocent Mexicans who are not involved in the drug trade.

We’re civilians; we’re not involved in any of the conflicts,” said the 40-year-old El Cajón resident. “It’s tough because you can’t go out, or they would think that you’re supporting a side or the other. We spent over two months hiding because of shootings.”

As drug cartels grow more powerful and gain territory, more Mexicans are forced to either live this way or leave their homes.

Experts say the state and federal governments are not doing enough to help restore law and order.

Mexico’s federal and state forces have acted, in the best of cases, as passive bystanders, and in the worst of cases as active conflict participants, taking sides by collaborating with one or the other criminal band, said Ernst, the security analyst.

For now, the name of the game is passiveness and complicity, and this means that these new, more aggressive ways of making war – such as the deliberate targeting of civilian populations – are afforded with impunity.

If criminal organizations face no consequences, Ernst said, “the escalation of violent practices will continue” and “humanitarian costs, including displacements too, will continue to mount.

Mexican drug cartels:As cartels muscle in on massive avocado sales, armed civilians fight back

Experts said federal government officials are drafting legislation that aims to prevent internal displacement. But for now, they expect the problem to fester.

Back in El Cajón, the 40-year-old resident tries to remain optimistic.

Right now, we feel free because shootings have stopped, he said. “Maybe next year, things would get better. Probably with fewer people, but the patronal feast could happen again.

Karol Suárez is a Venezuela-born journalist based out of Mexico City. Cristopher Rogel Blanquet and Armando Solis contributed to this story.

Karol Suárez, “Cartel violence in Mexico forces people to flee their homes, leaving ghost towns behind,” USA Today (21 October 2021, updated 27 October 2021), citing IDMC Mexico, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/10/21/mexican-drug-cartel-violence-forced-migration-el-mench-michoacan/6116727001/; Luís Chaparro and Anne Deslandes, “Where’s the aid for Mexicans displaced by gang violence?” The New Humanitarian (1 July 2021), https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2021/7/1/wheres-the-aid-for-mexicans-displaced-by-gang-violence.

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