Baja Bernie - 6-9-2006 at 06:09 AM
June 8, 2006
Security and Law Enforcement News
Behind the Retail Narco Business
Fighting the illegal drug trade was one of the questions
addressed by Mexico's five presidential candidates during
the televised debate held on June 6. In today's Mexico,
the narco trade is not only an issue of export. A recent
study by the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) estimated that
street-level sales of illegal drugs to Mexican consumers
rake in about $1.5 billion dollars per year. The PFP
calculated that at least 35,000 retail outlets, or
tienditas, where users can purchase illegal drugs exist
throughout Mexico. Besides "stores," illegal drugs are also
delivered by motorcycle or bicycle, much like a take-out
pizza order.
Not surprisingly, Mexico City has the most tienditas,
estimated by the PFP to number about 10,000. Counting a far
smaller population than Mexico's capital city, the border
states of Baja California and Chihuahua nevertheless host
significant numbers of tienditas, with Baja California
having more than 2,000 and Chihuahua anywhere from 1-2,000.
In the Baja California city of Tijuana, another recent
study detected the presence of tienditas in between 90-100
neighborhoods, or colonias. Sponsored by two civil society
groups, the Public Safety Citizen's Council and Graffiti
Busters, the study examined the structure of the retail
narco trade.
According to the report's authors, the business functions
like a hybrid between the nightclub and convenience store
trades. "Promoters" lure customers to a storefront that
offers drugs for sale. A manager is in charge of operating
the store, which is characterized by round-the-clock
activity. Cash is constantly moved off the premises to
another stash house, and only relatively small amounts of
merchandise are maintained on the premises to guard against
losses in the event of a bust.
David Solis Jusaino, the study's coordinator, contended
that the structure of the narco street trade renders it
almost immune to serious disruption. "There is never going
to be a big confiscation of money or drugs in (tienditas)."
Solis said. "They are constantly taking them out, every
half hour. It doesn't suit them to have a lot stocked-up."
Like a big corporate retail chain, Tijuana's drug houses
are reliably supplied by regular wholesalers, in this case,
by four large warehouses. Alleging that the businesses
enjoy protection from different police agencies, the
Tijuana study suggests how public subsidies also help the
retail narco trade thrive. "The warehouses that supply
(tienditas) are as untouchable as always," Solis
added. "This is an important point. Arresting or killing a
seller is insignificant."
Sources: El Universal, May 28 and June 6, 2006. Articles by
Maria de la Luz Gonzalez and editorial staff. Frontera, May
31, 2006. Article by Daniel Salinas.
Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Bruce R Leech - 6-9-2006 at 06:17 AM
large Pizza , 2 liters of soda and a gram of Cocaine delivered to your house pronto. 
what next
burro bob - 6-9-2006 at 10:21 AM
Have you ever wondered why there are so many trucks selling "cocos locos" around San Felipe? I mean how many people really like coconut milk? I think
there is something else in those trucks.
Sharksbaja - 6-9-2006 at 11:29 AM
MAS SABOR!!!