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Violence is up but impunity remains the norm in Guerrero, where the lines between organised crime and legitimate authority are often blurred. President Peña Nieto’s government must turn a new leaf and embrace new investigative bodies and international expertise capable of regaining the trust that Guerrero’s corrupted institutions have lost.

Mary Speck is one of the authors of Crisis Group’s latest report on Mexico “Back from the Brink: Saving Ciudad Juárez” which examines how the Mexican government can learn from the example of Juárez to tackle and prevent organised violent crime.

For lessons on crime prevention, Mexico can look to the example of Ciudad Juárez, the world’s “murder capital” in 2008-2010. Government and citizens worked together to bring violence down by strengthening local law enforcement and addressing socio-economic inequalities. These initiatives should be monitored, refined and expanded if Mexico is to overcome its country-wide crisis of confidence at all levels.

In this Q&A, Mary Speck, Crisis Group’s Mexico and Central America Project Director, discusses the significance of Guzmán’s arrest for the narcotics trade, for the state’s fight against organised crime and for Mexicans caught in drug-related violence that has claimed an estimated 70,000 lives over eight years.