On this episode of THE MODERN MEXICO PODCAST, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to BLOOMBERG journalist Maya Averbuch about the problem of cargo truck hijacking in Mexico.
Mexico is now considered to be the worst hotspot for cargo truck hijacking with over 100,000 violent in-transit robberies occuring over the last five years. These incidents have resulted in billions dollars of losses over the last decade. Companies including GM, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Philip Morris have all been affected.
Cargo truck hijacking has become a major problem in Mexico.
During President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, Mexico has a unique opportunity to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing.
Many cities in Mexico are experiencing a boom in new industrial investment. But, foreign executives managing new facilities and operations in Mexico are discovering that Mexico presents some unique challenges when it comes to dealing with organized crime.
According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Mexico is ranked as the world’s third worst country in terms of organized crime.
For the last 20 years the generally accepted explanation has been that organized crime in Mexico typically tries to avoid messing with foreign manufacturing companies.
For the most part, criminal groups have largely avoided kidnapping foreign executives or trying to extort companies operating factories.
But, there is one type of crime that does directly impact foreign companies: cargo truck hijacking.
Many remote stretches of highway in Mexico have become major hotspots for violent cargo robberies.
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On this episode of THE MODERN MEXICO PODCAST, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to BLOOMBERG journalist Maya Averbuch about the problem of cargo truck hijacking in Mexico.
Mexico is now considered to be the worst hotspot for cargo truck hijacking with over 100,000 violent in-transit robberies occuring over the last five years. These incidents have resulted in billions dollars of losses over the last decade. Companies including GM, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Philip Morris have all been affected.
Cargo truck hijacking has become a major problem in Mexico.
During President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, Mexico has a unique opportunity to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing.
Many cities in Mexico are experiencing a boom in new industrial investment. But, foreign executives managing new facilities and operations in Mexico are discovering that Mexico presents some unique challenges when it comes to dealing with organized crime.
According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Mexico is ranked as the world’s third worst country in terms of organized crime.
For the last 20 years the generally accepted explanation has been that organized crime in Mexico typically tries to avoid messing with foreign manufacturing companies.
For the most part, criminal groups have largely avoided kidnapping foreign executives or trying to extort companies operating factories.
But, there is one type of crime that does directly impact foreign companies: cargo truck hijacking.
Many remote stretches of highway in Mexico have become major hotspots for violent cargo robberies.
On this episode of the MODERN MEXICO PODCAST, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery talks to Steve Woodman, a Mexico-based organized crime researcher at Advanced Intelligence Solutions, about the long history of vanilla production in the state of Veracruz, Mexico by Totonaco indigenous residents. Nathaniel talks about his recent visit to Veracruz where he met with indigenous vanilla growers and learned about the problems the sector faces today. One grower gave a tip for staying safe: "Always carry a shotgun." Veracruz is a hotspot for organized crime activity and vanilla growers in the state struggle to deal with thefts of their crops during harvest season. Nathaniel and Steve talk about how the problems in the vanilla sector in Veracruz reflect bigger political dynamics in the state.
“In that area [of Mexico] we’ve seen extortion rackets targeting indigenous communities. There have been forced disappearances and murders. Overall, agricultural crime is an issue in Veracruz. Extortion of farmers has been an issue. It’s not surprising that vanilla theft occurs. It’s a very profitable crop. Robberies are very likely given the broader security context in Veracruz. It matches a trend across Mexico where organized crime has diversified into new areas," Steve explains.
The Modern Mexico Podcast
On this episode of THE MODERN MEXICO PODCAST, host Nathaniel Parish Flannery speaks to BLOOMBERG journalist Maya Averbuch about the problem of cargo truck hijacking in Mexico.
Mexico is now considered to be the worst hotspot for cargo truck hijacking with over 100,000 violent in-transit robberies occuring over the last five years. These incidents have resulted in billions dollars of losses over the last decade. Companies including GM, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Philip Morris have all been affected.
Cargo truck hijacking has become a major problem in Mexico.
During President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, Mexico has a unique opportunity to encourage foreign investment in manufacturing.
Many cities in Mexico are experiencing a boom in new industrial investment. But, foreign executives managing new facilities and operations in Mexico are discovering that Mexico presents some unique challenges when it comes to dealing with organized crime.
According to the Global Organized Crime Index, Mexico is ranked as the world’s third worst country in terms of organized crime.
For the last 20 years the generally accepted explanation has been that organized crime in Mexico typically tries to avoid messing with foreign manufacturing companies.
For the most part, criminal groups have largely avoided kidnapping foreign executives or trying to extort companies operating factories.
But, there is one type of crime that does directly impact foreign companies: cargo truck hijacking.
Many remote stretches of highway in Mexico have become major hotspots for violent cargo robberies.
