Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role Falko joined Crisis Group in July 2018 as Senior Analyst for Mexico. He is responsible for conducting research on the country's lethal conflict and the challenges the incoming president faces, particularly as concerns the country's many regional conflict settings and intra-institutional realities that underpin corruption and collusion by state actors. He provides field-based insights and recommendations, through reports and contributions to media, as to how these should be factored to make for sound security policy. Areas of Expertise Non-state armed groups Organised crime Criminal governance Corruption Latin America Mexico Professional Background Falko has worked on criminal governance, organised crime-state-collusion, and new forms of conflict in Mexico and Latin America since 2010. As a PhD researcher in sociology at the University of Essex (UK), he lived in organised crime-controlled communities in Mexico. He went on to become a freelance researcher and author based in Mexico City, collaborating with Crisis Group, the Ford Foundation, the London School of Economics, and national and international media. Prior to this, he worked as a research assistant in Germany's federal parliament in Berlin, and completed a masters degree in Latin American area studies at the University of Passau, Germany. In The News 25 Aug 2020 The impotence of Mexican government security forces has been made particularly evident in the events of the last few months. The New Humanitarian Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico 2 Aug 2020 [The arrest of José Antonio Yépez] is basically a short-lived P.R. victory, but it doesn’t provide a solution. The big worry is that there is no backing in terms of a more cohesive security strategy. The New York Times Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico 13 Jul 2020 While much of the narrative around violence in Mexico focuses on drug trafficking and cartels, the "on-the-ground realities are far more complex. Al Jazeera Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico 20 Apr 2020 But in Mexico, armed clashes between rival crime factions continued throughout March and early April, and 2,585 homicides were registered last month alone. The Guardian Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico 14 Apr 2020 These [armed] groups [in Mexico] are trying to be seen as catering materially and providing a notion of security in places where they are also directly preying on the population [...]. Washington Post Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico 3 Apr 2020 It’s business as usual [for drug cartels in Mexico] with a risk of further escalation, especially if at some point the armed forces are called away for pandemic control. The Guardian Falko Ernst Senior Analyst, Mexico Latest Updates Op-Ed / Latin America & Caribbean 25 February 2020 America's appetite for avocados is helping to fuel the Mexican cartels Originally published in Business Insider Q&A / Latin America & Caribbean 22 October 2019 Picking Up the Pieces after Mexico’s Criminal Siege Shocking pictures from Culiacán show a criminal organisation forcing the Mexican state into submission. In this Q&A, Crisis Group Senior Analyst Falko Ernst explains why the mayhem should compel the government to revisit its security paradigm. Also available in Español Our Journeys / Latin America & Caribbean 3 June 2019 Mexico’s Hydra-headed Crime War It may seem that Mexico’s crime war, which has left over 100,000 dead in its wake, could not get any worse. But interviews with gunmen in deadly Tierra Caliente show that it can, as criminal organisations break into smaller and smaller parts, driving up the death toll. Also available in Español Q&A / Latin America & Caribbean 1 February 2019 Mexico’s New Neutrality in the Venezuela Crisis Bucking the U.S. and several large and influential Latin American states, Mexico has not recognised Juan Guaidó’s claim on Venezuela’s presidency, and has instead argued for negotiations to end the country’s crisis. As Crisis Group’s Senior Mexico Analyst Falko Ernst explains, this position is rooted in a new Mexican foreign policy doctrine. Also available in Español Q&A / Latin America & Caribbean 30 November 2018 Mexico’s New President Squares Up to High Hopes for Peace On 1 December, Andrés Manuel López Obrador will assume Mexico’s presidency. He won pledging to end a drug war that has killed tens of thousands. But, as Crisis Group’s Mexico Senior Analyst Falko Ernst argues, he faces formidable challenges that will make it hard for him to uphold his promises. Also available in Español Load more