Report: Women's Role in Organized Crime in Mexico Has Grown Significantly in the Past Decade

As women continue to gain ground in fields long dominated by men, including politics, the military and corporate leadership, their presence in organized crime has become more prominent.

According to a recent report by Milenio, the number of women arrested by Mexican authorities for crimes linked to organized crime increased by 124 percent in just 12 years, based on data from the Secretariat of National Defense.

The report shows that arrests for drug-related and associated offenses rose from 631 in 2012 to 1,413 in 2024. As Milenio noted, the trend has continued into this year. Between January and August 2025 alone, 1,737 women were arrested for such crimes, surpassing the total number for all of 2024 in less than nine months.

Journalist and security analyst David Saucedo told Milenio that several factors have contributed to the rise of women within organized crime, including the arrest of male cartel members and ongoing violent disputes with rival groups. These developments, he said, pushed criminal organizations to recruit women, sometimes against their will.

With a growing need to fill secondary roles such as logistics, storage, drug processing and the management of local operations, criminal groups increasingly turned to women. According to Saucedo, this subsequently opened the door for women to hold leadership positions, which further accelerated the recruitment of women.

"It's similar to what happens in state governments. There are female governors, and they promote gender parity in their cabinets. This also occurs in criminal structures. Once there are plaza bosses, regional leaders or sicario commanders who are women, they begin recruiting other women, and the numbers rise automatically," Saucedo said.

Other factors include economic desperation. Some women are the sole providers for their families, and limited opportunities lead them to seek other means of survival, including joining criminal groups.

Saucedo added that cartels increasingly favor recruiting women not only out of necessity, but also because of perceived advantages.

"They are more honest, more hardworking, more dedicated," he said. "They earn less than men. In other words, the same traits often seen in manufacturing plants, in the auto industry or in office work, those qualities are highly valued in drug trafficking. They work better and get paid less."

Other security experts consulted by Milenio say the growing presence of women in criminal groups marks a cultural shift within organized crime. Some reports even document women actively engaging in combat.

In one of the latest cases, Milenio reported the arrest of a special drone unit linked to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in Campeche, a state along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Authorities said a woman operated explosive drones used to attack law enforcement.

During the operation, state and federal forces intercepted a vehicle carrying two men, three women and five minors.