"May not look like much from this angle, but she's got some serious junk in the trunk."
Times are hard in Mexico. Even, it seems, for drug traffickers. Thanks to stepped-up law enforcement on both sides of the border, drug gangs are increasingly looking beyond their traditional revenue streams of trafficking and extortion. The Dallas Morning News reports that Los Zetas, one of Mexico’s largest drug syndicates, are expanding their presence along the Texas-Mexico border by acquiring legitimate businesses. A year ago, the gang simply extorted money from businesses, but more recently gang members are buying them outright. Members are said to have rebranded their outfit “The Company.” Used car lots, dance clubs, restaurants, pretty much any business that would have distribution networks that saddle the border and handle large amounts of cash, are popular venues. Beyond providing a front for trafficking and laundering, investigators believe the move toward legitimacy may be a precursor community and political involvement. “We could see them running for mayor, even governor, in the future,” said one civic leader in Nuevo Laredo.
