Latin-American drug cartels are globally known to be dominated by men. Whether it is the geared-up foot soldiers, the gang leaders or the hitmen, men have always been the face of the cartels. However, the recent killing of the world's most-wanted traffickers, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, in a daring operation by the Mexican military has revealed that sometimes it is the cartel women that you need to watch out for.
El Mencho had a $15 million bounty on his head and was wanted by both Mexican and US authorities. While he was successfully on the run for years, it was one of his lovers that led the military to the mountains of Tapalpa in western Mexico, where he was hiding, according to a CNN report.
While the lover's identity has been kept hidden, her role in one of Mexico's most significant anti-drug operations underscores the role of women in Latin America's drug cartels. From trophy wives to smuggling operatives and masterminds, women have been involved in every level of cartel operations. And if they are married to the bosses, they are often involved in more decision-making roles.
"If you are the wife of a senior cartel boss, you are likely read into their logistics, their operations, their strategies. So, when your husband is captured or killed, it's possible that you're able to take over a large chunk of the business," Henry Ziemer, an expert on organised crime at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN.
Griselda Blanco: Queen Of Cocaine
Colombia's Griselda Blanco was one of Latin America's most famous woman crime bosses and known as the "Queen of Cocaine". She had three husbands, all partners in her businesses and responsible for shipping huge shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Miami in the 1970s and 80s. She was recently portrayed by Sofia Vergara in Netflix's series "Griselda".
Griselda was known to have links with both Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel and was the mastermind behind several killings. "Even by the context of how hits were taken out in the cartels across the Americas in the 70s and 80s, she's still pretty ruthless," Claire White, director of education at The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, told CNN.
Griselda also hired more women than men and employed them as smugglers. "She had that ability to recognise skills and see women and put them into those positions," Elaine Carey, historian and author of 'Women Drug Traffickers: Mules, Bosses, and Organised Crime', told CNN.
Antonella Marchant
Antonella Marchant ran the Los Marchant clan alongside her father in Chile and specialised in financials and logistics. Los Marchant imported large quantities of cocaine from Bolivia and distributed it in the southern part of the Chilean capital, Santiago.
Antonella and her father were sentenced to 15 years in prison, and her brother was sentenced to 12 years in 2023 for an operation in December 2021 that involved more than 300 kilograms of cocaine.
Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia: La Jefa
Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia, known as "La Jefa" or "The Boss," was El Mencho's wife. The US sanctioned her brother Abigael and the Los Cuinis family-based cartel he led. The cartel has been closely aligned with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and it is Rosalinda to whom El Mencho owes his own ascent in the Jalisco cartel.
"In reality, El Mencho reached the (Jalisco) cartel's leadership through a diplomatic strategy via marriage," Mexican public security expert David Saucedo told CNN. Rosalinda has been accused of being one of the group's financial masterminds and was also charged with money laundering in 2018.
"Rosalinda's role in the cartel is pretty fundamental in the sense that she has always been involved in the money side. (Besides) when people in that world are married, they're not living what you and I would consider a conventional marriage. Who knows whether they were still romantically involved?" Deborah Bonello, author of 'Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels', told CNN.
Emma Coronel Aispuro
While Rosalinda came from a cartel family, not all narco-wives came from a drug background or were visibly involved in operations. For instance, Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and a California-born former beauty queen, is mostly known for her modelling career. She has appeared in music videos, modelled for brands and also become an influencer with over five lakh followers on Instagram. She has always denied involvement in any of her husband's businesses.
Coronel was, however, arrested in 2021 and sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug trafficking charges related to El Chapo's narcotics business.
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