Forced displacement in Chihuahua, Mexico

Forced displacement in Chihuahua, Mexico, has risen due to territorial disputes among organized crime groups. Reports from a Civil Observation Mission indicate that in 2025, at least 4,492 people were displaced, with significant numbers coming from the municipality of Guadalupe y Calvo. Violence in the Sierra Tarahumara and Golden Triangle regions often involves targeted attacks on community leaders and the use of high-caliber weapons and explosive drones, which experts have compared to ‘scorched earth’ methods.

Drivers of this crisis include territorial control, natural resource looting, forced recruitment, and institutional abandonment. In response to the displacement, federal authorities have held meetings in Mexico City with civil society organizations and representatives from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNHCR to seek urgent action for displaced communities.

By August 2026, the Secretaría de Gobernación established an inter-institutional table to address the crisis, prioritizing the Tepehuana indigenous community. Following reports of ‘extreme precariousness’ in Guadalupe y Calvo, humanitarian groups and the Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas have provided medical aid, food, and hygiene supplies to displaced families in Aldama.

As of late August 2026, civil organizations have warned that the humanitarian crisis in the Sierra Tarahumara and Triángulo Dorado regions may be more severe than previously recorded, suggesting that actual displacement figures could be ‘300% higher than current estimates’. In Aldama, local authorities have continued providing medical aid and supplies to Tepehuán families living in precarious conditions.