Drug 'cartelitos' hit Mexico resorts

Drug lords and their corrupt protectors, it turns out, like Cancún as much as any Ohio retiree. The long coastline practically beckons small planes or boats coming up from Colombia with packages of cocaine; the Caribbean, another transit hub, is a straight shot away across the Gulf; and dozens of convenient flights taking off to the US every day, as well as charter boats moving in and out of the resort, offer ease of mobility. The lifestyle is pleasant, there are numerous businesses in which to launder money, and there is even a small in-town demand for drugs.

Cancún is not alone in its appeal to both sun seekers and trigger-happy drug traffickers. At least eight killings have occurred over the past two months in the postcard-perfect resort town of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast. The most recent case involved four men who apparently had been buried alive right outside the main tourist area.

The only question he ever gets from tourists about drugs, says Carlos, a taxi driver here who asked that his last name not be used, is how to obtain them. According to recent investigation by Por Esto, a daily newspaper, there are 1,600 small dealers in Cancún serving some of the approximately 2 million Americans who visit here annually. "The real industry is focused on moving the drugs north, to the US," says Carlos, "but even the small crumbs deals are considered to be some of the best business around."

Meanwhile in the big game, the lucrative supply route to the US does not seem to have been diminished, despite US law enforcement's best efforts. The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) reported this month that the US street price of two grams of cocaine averaged $106 in the first half of 2003, a fifth of its 1981 level. The US is as awash in drugs as ever, says WOLA's Coletta Youngers. "What we have learned from 25 years of failed policy is that as horrific as specific drug traffickers are," she says, "they are easily replaced - if there is the demand."

Monica Cardenas sells time shares here. "Cancún is paradise," she repeats for the umpteenth time. As many people are interested in buying property or vacationing here as ever, she insists. "I wouldn't call it a drug war here," she says. "It's more of a passing internal conflict."

She laughs when asked if she is related to Osiel Cardenas, the alleged leader of the Gulf Cartel, now behind bars. "No way!" she exclaims, forgetting her lines. "If I were related to him, with all that money, do you think I would be wasting my time here in Cancún? I would be away from all this.... Maybe in Monaco, where life is calm."

• Danna Harman is Latin America bureau chief for the Monitor and USA Today.

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