Forms of Participation and Ways of Getting Women in the International Drug Trade

Abstract

International drug trafficking is a global activity with grave consequences to all levels of society. Mexico and other Latin American countries have become open markets for illicit drugs. The question of gender usually isn’t considered in public prevention policies; less in the penal system. By looking from a gender theory, and a using combination of a quantitative and a qualitative method, this article intends to bring about the ways in which women get involved in the international drug business. It also uses real cases and interviews with inmates at the Centro Femenil de Readaptación Social Santa Martha Acatitla, located in Mexico City.