Report: More Women Joining Mexican Cartel Ranks

An International Crisis Group report reveals that more women are joining Mexico's cartels and criminal groups.

The report's author, Angélica Ospina-Escobar, told Vice News that women are joining the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and Cartel del Sur in increasing numbers and taking up various roles, including as car thieves, drug sales managers, supervisors, and assassins.

While the exact numbers are unclear, the report suggests that Mexican criminal organizations recruit around 7,000 members annually, with women making up between 5% and 8% — or roughly 350 to 560 new members per year.

"The violence that women can use," Ospina-Escobar says, "is because of the dynamics of the criminal groups themselves. Now they not only need to kill, they are asked to disappear the bodies; and I think that is new. It brings a different nature to their duties. To kill someone is difficult but to dismember them? It has a deep impact on their mental health. And as they are recruiting these young girls at very young ages, the impact on their mindset and the possibility of reintegration is more complex."

• Violence Paralyzes Mexican Stronghold of Sinaloa Drug Cartel
• Biden Thanks Mexico for Cartel Figure's Arrest