Cartels Target U.S. Businesses in Mexico: Theft and Extortion on the Rise
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) - Tariffs are just one of the worries for U.S. businesses operating in Mexico nowadays.
A growing number of American companies operating in Mexico along with their local business partners face threats such as extortion, truck hijackings, and criminal efforts to pressure staff into allowing illegal operations like drug smuggling, according to a recent report.
That operation happening below the border might become more intense if the Mexican and U.S. governments exert enough pressure on cartels, making them feel that it's not financially viable to avoid targeting American interests anymore.
According to reports, "Extortion activities by drug cartels against Mexican businesses have grown in scale and target size, suggesting potential implications for U.S. companies in the future." 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment The report from the Virginia-based security company Global Guardian states, "Without significant alterations in Mexico's safety environment, extortion will become an escalating risk for Western companies doing business in Mexico."
According to a 2024 survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, one out of every eight member companies indicated that organized crime has "gained significant influence over the sales, distribution, and/or pricing of their products." Associated Press reported.
The proportion of companies functioning in Mexico that have been affected by organized crime and violence in one form or another is quite significant," stated Michael Ballard, who leads intelligence operations at Global Guardian. "Central Mexico acts as a key production center for exporting vehicles, household items, and large equipment; thus, these businesses worry about hijackings during transit, pilferage of merchandise, and illicit resale activities.
There are worries regarding infiltration from individuals associated with organized crime, whether as direct employees or through pressuring executives.
Truck drivers are the most frequent victims, but criminal organizations are also focusing their efforts on executives who oversee vendor networks and supplies.
Organized crime groups’ hounding of multinational companies is concentrated in heavily industrialized Nuevo Leon across the border from South Texas, in the Mexico City metropolitan area and in the cartel battlefield of Guanajuato, according to Global Guardian.
“We’ve also seen in some cases that some cartels have forced their way in through threat of violence and coercion into piggybacking onto these companies’ distribution networks to transport their drugs or human trafficking or whatever the case may be,” Ballard said. “They basically hide cocaine, heroin, meth, fentanyl in shipments that have been precleared by (U.S. Customs). It’s an easy way to get their product across the border.”
Some border manufacturers may be experiencing similar situations but it’s hard to quantify how many because employees who live in Mexico often are reluctant to report threats for fear of retaliation from criminals, he said.
“It’s a very tricky situation. [….] We’ve all seen the photos and videos of some of the horrible things cartels have done to rivals, informants, whatever the case may be,” Ballard added.
This may put some American firms between a rock and a hard place because the U.S. government recently designated the largest Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. That means anyone aiding and abetting their activities is subject to criminal prosecution, in addition to fines.
“It is a bigger deal than money laundering or accepting (illicit) money,” he said.
The international security firm has been advising clients in Mexico to ensure their financial compliance and to consider adding a security manager to their operations to regularly go over the books and root out potential cartel infiltration.
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