Mexico Estimates 500,000 Tied to Drug Trade
 Brendan Walsh - Bloomberg
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| | Mexican Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan | | |
Mexican Defense Secretary Guillermo Galvan said 500,000 people in the country are tied to the illegal drug trade, newspaper El Universal reported.
Mexico has 300,000 growers, 160,000 small-time drug dealers or transporters, and 40,000 in leadership positions within drug gangs, Galvan told lawmakers this week, according to Universal.
Galvan said the drug cartels' finances have been hurt by a crackdown on organized crime instituted by President Felipe Calderon, and that as a result more of them may be turning to kidnapping for ransom to raise funds, the newspaper reported, citing lawmakers who heard Galvan's comments.
The Defense Ministry didn't respond to efforts to seek comment, the newspaper reported.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brendan Walsh in Mexico City at Bwalsh8(at)bloomberg.net. |
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News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2008 
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