Summary

The Rising Role of Women like Beauty Queens in Drug trafficking A newspaper headline about the trials of a Mexican drug cartel’s queen, Sandra Avila Beltran became a rhetorical opportunity for me to probe deeper into the issue of the rising role of women like her, in drug trafficking. “ Ávila is one of the most colorful figures to emerge in recent years from Mexicos narcotics industry and the appalling violence that has cost as many as 60, 000 lives there since a government offensive began in 2006.” (Harris, The Observer).
My interest in this topic was further fuelled after watching trailers from an upcoming Oliver Stone’s movie ‘ Savages’, which stars Salma Hayek as a ruthless female drug lord. After reading about Avila and watching trailers of ‘ Savages’, I realized that women are more deeply involved in drug trafficking than it is widely believed. The involvement of high-profile women from the world of fashion in dangerous, life-threatening and illegal activities also raises other important questions like the reasons and factors that contribute to their involvement and their manipulation on the basis of their gender in drug trafficking. A research article by Council on Hemispheric Affairs stated:
Because a woman could use her appearance to bypass security officers, DTO affiliates began attending beauty pageants held in Latin America in order to approach contestants with the lures associated with drug trafficking… Colombian beauty queen and lingerie model, Angie Valencia, who was supposedly using other young, beautiful models to transport drugs in an international cocaine ring. (Mares, COHA)
This research topic would not only explore the dual roles of women as victims and perpetrators but would also investigate about the ambiguous roles played by women in the complex web of the underworld. “ According to the National Womens Institute (INMUJERES), the number of females convicted in connection to the drug trade rose 400 percent between 2007 and 2010.” (Ramsey, Insight)
Such facts and figures about the involvement of women in drug trafficking are likely to attract students of women and gender studies, legal studies, criminal psychology etc. The data available at the official websites of law enforcement agencies, newspaper articles, human rights organizations, etc. shall prove to be the most authentic sources of acquiring information about this topic.
Some sources from where official statistics can be obtained are: Almanac of Policy Issues (http://www. policyalmanac. org/); United States Drug Enforcement Administration (http://www. justice. gov/dea/statistics. html); FBI (http://www. fbi. gov/); and Bureau of Justice Statistics (http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/) etc. Though this topic of research is deep and extensive, however, I shall limit its scope to the drug cartels working in the Latin America since the twentieth century.
Work Cited
Ramsey, Geoffrey. “ Women in Mexicos Drug War: Victims and Villains.” Insight: Organized Crime in the Americas. 13 December. 2011. Web. 30 August. 2012. Mares, Andrea. “ The Rise of Femicide and Women in Drug Trafficking”. COHA. 28 October. 2011. Web. 30 August. 2012. Harris, Paul. “ Fascinated US awaits trial of Mexican drug cartels Queen of the Pacific”. The Observer. 12 August. 2012. Web. 30 August. 2012.