Mexico accounts for 15% of all recorded cargo theft incidents globally, second only to Brazil at 22%. Within that, Jalisco stands out as one of the most dangerous states in Mexico for freight.
The state’s dense concentration of highways, ports, rail connections, industrial parks, and air cargo facilities has made it attractive for some of the most sophisticated cargo theft networks operating today.
A state originally built for freight
Jalisco sits at the intersection of Mexico’s Pacific port access and its domestic manufacturing heartland. Federal Highway 80/80D links Guadalajara to the Port of Manzanillo, while highways 15 and 54 connect the state to the US border and northern industry.
Layer in dense industrial parks across El Salto, Tlajomulco, Tlaquepaque, and Zapopan, plus Guadalajara International Airport (one of the country’s largest air cargo hubs), and the criminal opportunity writes itself. Trucks are the primary target, and the tactics used against them have grown bolder.
What “sophisticated” looks like
Hijacking accounted for one in five cargo theft incidents in 2025, making it the most prevalent tactic globally. In Jalisco, hijacking functions less like a crime of opportunity and more like an organized industry—one where Global Positioning System (GPS) systems are jammed, security escorts are overcome, and drivers are removed as part of a deliberate plan.
Forced stops
Controlling where a truck stops is one of the clearest expressions of operational sophistication. Rather than pursuing a moving vehicle, criminal groups engineer the moment of vulnerability before the theft begins. (Read Alternate Routes, Elevated Risks: Supply Chains in a Post-Hormuz World for more on road disruptions).
For example, BSI’s Connect Screen Intelligence reported an incident in January 2026 on Highway 23 in Tlaquepaque, where thieves intercepted a water bottle shipment using a vehicle blockade, redirected the driver, then separated the tractor from the trailer to increase recovery complexity and buy time to move the cargo inland.
The strategy points to detailed route intelligence, pre-assigned roles, and an established extraction plan, and operational planning needs to reflect that a stoppage can be engineered, not just encountered.
Disabled tracking
GPS jamming is now a standard practice for Jalisco criminals. Using it reflects not only technical awareness, but confidence that disabling tracking will delay law enforcement response long enough to complete a theft.
In July 2025, a truck carrying around $104,000 in footwear and sports goods was recovered only after officers conducted a physical search following GPS signal loss near kilometer 1 of the Acatlán de Juárez–Guadalajara Highway.
The incident highlights the growing reality that when organizations rely heavily on live GPS tracking for incident response, signal disruption can quickly become a critical security vulnerability.
Driver vulnerability
Driver kidnappings are not uncommon in cargo theft. In January 2026, a driver was taken during a hijacking on Via Alameda, and later abandoned in Tlaquepaque. He was located only after a member of the public reported something suspicious. This incident is an example of why check-in protocols and duress procedures are needed for driver protection.
Security escort workarounds
Perhaps most concerning are cases where cargo theft succeeds even with armed protection in place. After a September 2025 guarded truck hijacking in the Artesanos neighborhood of Tlaquepaque, cargo was eventually recovered, but the incident raises security questions.
Whether through force of numbers or insider compromise, the conclusion is the same: an escort alone is not a guarantee of security.
Road to rail
Rail theft accounted for 10% of US cargo theft incidents in 2025, up from 6% the previous year, and this same pattern is now emerging in Jalisco.
Organized crime groups are now identifying vulnerabilities across all modes of transport. In October 2025, armed thieves targeted a stationary freight train in Guadalajara's Jardines del Bosque neighborhood, stealing beverage products before firing on responding officers (read more: Rail Theft Triples in 18 Months: What Changed?)
Moving goods by rail through Jalisco now means establishing breakdown protocols, dwell time management, and security coordination with rail operators.
What these incidents show
The tactics vary but the intent remains the same: remove every variable that could interrupt a theft, whether that is the driver, the tracking signal, the security escort, or the transport mode itself. These are not isolated incidents. They are field-tested methods, refined and repeated across one of Mexico's most critical freight corridors.
Commodities in the crosshairs
The most targeted goods in Jalisco over the past year include food and beverage, automotive parts, metals, alcohol, and construction material. And the pattern is consistent with what’s being seen globally, where food and beverage alone accounts for 14% of all stolen commodities.
Criminal groups change tactics quickly toward whatever offers the greatest value. That means supply chains should be watching market conditions for signals that previously lower-risk cargo is becoming newly attractive.
What to do now
The criminals operating in 2026 are more sophisticated than before. They plan, coordinate, and adapt faster than most security protocols are updated. That requires incorporating cargo theft intelligence regularly (day-by-day, not once a year). Risk management needs to reflect what these groups are capable of now, not what they were doing two years ago.
Discover more supply chain risk insights with BSI Connect Screen.
