Use Wi-Fi for 30,000 Won... New Side Business of Mexican Cartels

After Installing Wi-Fi Equipment, Threatening Residents and Exploiting Profits
Also Involved in Lime and Avocado Distribution Networks... Main Cause of Price Inflation

It has been revealed that Mexican drug cartels are exploiting local residents for exorbitant profits.

Members of a Mexican drug cartel. This photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 4th (local time), British media such as The Guardian reported that Mexican drug cartels are using Wi-Fi businesses as a front to overcharge local residents and even threaten to kill those who refuse to use their services.

The Mexican prosecutor's office stated that a drug cartel in the central state of Michoac?n has installed temporary internet antennas on its own in the area, forcing residents to use them and threatening to kill those who do not pay the usage fees. The organization reportedly charged about 5,000 residents a high monthly fee of 400 to 500 pesos (approximately 30,000 to 38,000 KRW). However, no deaths related to this have been reported.

The drug cartel installed the antennas using stolen equipment, and locally they have been nicknamed "Narco (drug criminal) antennas," according to foreign media. Mexican authorities seized Wi-Fi equipment last week and detained one person involved. Although the prosecutor's office did not disclose the cartel's name, local media identified the group as "Los Viagras." This organization is known to control the villages where Wi-Fi usage is being forced.

Recently, it appears that Mexican drug cartels are extending their reach beyond drug trafficking into other sectors.

Falco Ernst, a Mexico analyst at the think tank International Crisis Group, analyzed, "There are 200 armed criminal organizations in Mexico that are becoming de facto monopolists not only in drug trafficking but also in certain services and other legitimate markets." He likened this to the cartels solidifying their control over vast areas of Mexico, effectively forming "fiefdoms."

Ernst explained, "Some gangs in Mexico are imposing taxes on basic food items and imports, and have infiltrated Michoac?n's lucrative avocado business, lime market, and parts of the local mining industry."

In fact, in Mexico, disputes among gangs over the distribution networks of avocados and limes?profitable commodities known as "green gold"?are ongoing. Local gangs extort large sums of money under the name of "fees" during the production and transportation processes of avocados and limes, and these "fees" are reflected in consumer prices, leading to inflation.

Meanwhile, troubled by the activities of drug cartels, Mexico has entrusted the operation of major international airports, including Mexico City, to the military, and has effectively handed over full authority of ports to the military to handle even general administrative tasks. The military is also involved in major infrastructure projects, showing unlimited trust in the Ministry of National Defense and military organizations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.