The Mercado Morelos opens its doors before dawn. Every day, trucks loaded with fruit, meat, vegetables, groceries, and merchandise arrive at one of Puebla’s most important distribution centers.
But beyond the commercial aisles lies another reality. For more than a decade, this area has become one of the principal centers of violence in the city.
The market cannot be understood in isolation. Surrounding it is a corridor made up of the neighborhoods of 10 de Mayo, 5 de Mayo, Joaquín Colombres, Clavijero, Historiadores, Casa Blanca, and several housing developments that connect directly to the Puebla–Orizaba Highway and the junction leading to Amozoc.
A Strategic Location
From this point, there is immediate access to the Central de Abasto, the Mexico–Veracruz Highway, Periférico Ecológico, the federal highway to Tehuacán, and several major roads that provide quick access to surrounding municipalities.
That strategic location has made the area attractive not only for legitimate commerce but also for illegal activities.
For several years, the most common crimes included cargo theft, vehicle theft, street-level drug trafficking, robberies targeting merchants, and the sale of stolen merchandise.
Violence Became More Severe Over Time
As the years passed, more violent crimes began to emerge.
Criminal investigations started documenting executions, disappearances, kidnappings, intentional homicides, and armed attacks carried out in broad daylight.
State and federal authorities have identified the Mercado Morelos–10 de Mayo corridor as the scene of disputes between criminal groups competing for control of street-level drug sales and other illegal activities.
Throughout different periods, authorities have also carried out search warrants, seized weapons, narcotics, and vehicles, and arrested suspected members of criminal organizations.
A Changing Pattern of Violence
Until the early 2010s, violent incidents occurred only occasionally.
Beginning in the second half of that decade, executions and targeted attacks became increasingly frequent.
The violence was no longer limited to nighttime hours.
Shootings began occurring during normal business hours, in front of businesses, along busy streets, and even near the market itself.
Merchants and residents adjusted their daily routines, strengthened security measures, and grew accustomed to constant operations involving municipal, state, federal, and military security forces.
In recent years, investigations into disappearances involving merchants and individuals connected to market activities have also increased.
Some of those cases ended with victims being found dead in different parts of the city or neighboring municipalities.
A Persistent Security Concern
Violence is not confined to the Mercado Morelos itself.
The neighborhoods of 10 de Mayo and 5 de Mayo continue to appear frequently in police reports involving homicides, armed attacks, search warrants, seizures, and police pursuits.
In May 2026, for example, a man was shot and killed outside a tortilla shop in the 10 de Mayo neighborhood. Weeks later, another armed attack occurred near the market, according to reports by Quadratín Puebla.
The frequency of these incidents has once again placed the Mercado Morelos corridor among the areas receiving the greatest attention from state authorities.
Source: puebla.quadratin
