Mexico Drug Cartels Create Narco-Widows

Desperate families that reside in drug-infested cities and states in Mexico seem to be living their lives with a “if you can’t beat them, join them” attitude. Drugs have lured in the youth of Mexico, demolishing once positive attitudes.

Desperate fathers have turned to smuggling resulting in countless jail sentences. Even more disheartening is this Mexican drug epidemic that has taken the heart of its society: the women.

Young women, wives, daughters and female relatives of drug cartels looking for quick cash, in places like Sinaloa and Mexico City, find themselves smuggling and dealing for spouses, husbands and local cartels.

Many of these women are deceived and exploited by their “loved” ones. Be it sex or drugs, desperation has made some of these women tools of men.

Another indication of changes within Mexican society is the amount of women being incarcerated, shot, or killed in Mexico. The increase in violence toward women in Mexico shows that healthy improvement within the country’s drug war is far from near.

Sadly, Mexico is also a major consumer of its own product, so young women are becoming users and abusers of narcotics. According to a Los Angeles Times article Nov. 10, 80 percent of first-time female inmates, who have been sentenced to Mexican prisons this year, have been users of narcotics.

Some people argue that the women in prison are the lucky ones because most of the other females involved in the drug war are found in trash bags with a single shot to the head. Stories of body bags and cartel bosses travel from mouth to mouth in cities like Sinaloa.

“Narco-wives,” women married to male drug smugglers, are no longer sitting back and watching their husbands, but, rather, they are getting in on the action by partaking in the smuggling, as well. These women have very little options as they cannot easily leave their husbands.

Almost like the witness protection program, Mexico has hidden shelters where people like former narco-wives can seek safe haven. The problem with these hidden shelters is that they are hardly accessible and few in numbers.

In a culture like Mexico, the mother is most times the heart and soul of the family. Taking this away can devastate the structure of the family.

The Mexican government needs to spend more time in fighting this epidemic before it gets any worse. They need to spend more time not only in rehabilitation, but also education.

Desperate citizens feel like there are no other options, and they take the only road open to them.

Categories: Mexican Crime, mexico, organized crime, war on drugs