More Female Narcos Stepping Up To Management Roles

By Kalyn Belsha, Voxxi

Women’s participation in Mexico’s drug trade is nothing new — in fact their involvement can betraced back to the 1930s. But now, female narcos are stepping up to management roles.

Women take over for dead male leaders

Written by professor Arturo Santamaría Gómez with the help of eight researchers at his univeristy, Las Jefas del Narco tells the story of 40 anonymous women who admit to doing high-up cartel work.

According to the Mexican government, which last released a tally of drug war-related deaths in January, more than 47,000 people have been killed since December 2006 when President Felipe Calderón launched an offense against the nation’s cartels.

Because many of those who have died were older men who worked for cartels, younger men and women are ascending the ranks within drug-trafficking organizations.

They may be more effective leaders, but are still being arrested

Women in cartels have a few defining traits as managers, according to Santamaría Gómez’s book. They tend to be more cautious and “use deadly force more sparingly than men.” They can also be more responsible and loyal, making them more effective leaders.

Many of the leading women were romantically involved with or related to former cartel members, and are taking on roles in the same criminal families. The Zetas —  widely regardedas the most brutal and violent cartel — especially have recruited female assassins.

Many notable arrests have involved former beauty queens and models romantically linked to cartel bosses.

Trend several years in the making

Reports that women have been increasingly involved in the drug trade date back to 2008. But at the time, women occupied “the lowliest positions,” often acting as drug mules or dealers. A BBC report said women who achieved more were “an exception.”

Santamaría Gomez says women also started out laundering money and charming corrupt officials with their beauty.

In November 2009, the LA Times reported that a combination of Mexico’s poor economy, addiction and the allure of the glamourous narco lifestyle was pulling more women into the drug trade and encouraging them to take a more “hands-on role.”

As Mexican leadership beefed up national security, women were used to smuggle drugs because they could more easily pass through military checkpoints. And in the midst of an economic crisis, desperate women turned to cartel work, which was looked on more favorably than prostitution.

About the same time, the number of women in Mexican prisons convicted of drug-related crimes soared, with the majority of female inmates serving drug-related sentences. An increase in the killing of so-called “narco wives” was also reported, as women who were once untouchable fell victim to a new wave of violence.

Gradually, women learned to “manage people, run operations and move money, skills that ultimately prepared them to take over entire operations.”

Drug war plays large role in upcoming elections

Future plans for safety and security in Mexico have been a main concern in this year’s upcoming presidential election.

Frontrunner Enrique Peña Nieto has promisesd that if elected he would no longer follow the current administration’s strategy of focusing on the arrest of cartel leaders and seizing their drugs and weapons.

Instead he has pledged toreduce drug-related violencesuch as homicide, kidnapping and extortion, by sending more police and troops to the areas with the highest rates of violent crime.

This article first appeared in Voxxi.

Kalyn Belsha is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. Her primary areas of interest are language education, immigration policy, changing demographics and Latino community news.