In Mexico, drug cartels are often seen as formidable competitors to the state, their influence measured through firearms, financial power, and the assassination of officials.

However, this characterization overlooks a fundamental aspect of organized crime in the country; it operates within a gender-based system.

This pervasive system attempts to control women, often excluding them to assert its authority.

The term "femicide related to drugs" captures a brutal dynamic, signifying not only the killing of women but also the strategic use of gender-based violence by criminal organizations to enforce social norms, maintain control, and cement dominance, especially in the absence of effective state oversight.

According to a study conducted by a Mexican intelligence data firm, organized crime was responsible for 60% of murders of women in 2020. In that year, approximately 1,891 women were violently killed by drug cartels, marking a 40% increase compared to 2018. Mexico records one of the highest rates of female murders in Latin America; reports indicate that nearly ten women were killed daily throughout 2020. Cities like Ciudad Juárez, which previously earned the title "murder capital of the world," are characterized by instances of sexual violence, mutilation, and public displays of brutality.

The causes of femicide in Mexico are varied, but a significant proportion occurs in regions such as Jalisco, Guerrero, and Chihuahua, where drug cartels are deeply entrenched.

A 2024 report by a major think tank indicated that violence against women escalated in areas like Mexico City, under the sway of organized crime, often leading families to refrain from reporting assaults or rapes due to fear of retaliation.

The report elaborates that drug cartels utilize violence against women as a tool for intimidation and displays of power, warning society against defiance.

With cartel violence often escaping accountability and public punishment, an unwritten law emerges indicating that women “should know their place.”

A prominent example is the murder of journalist Marisol Macías in 2011 in Nuevo Laredo, who was killed after denouncing local cartels online.

Following her death, her head was severed and placed beside her body alongside a handwritten sign stating she was killed in retaliation for her social media posts.

In July 2024, Minerva Pérez Castro, the leader of a fishing advocacy group in Mexico, was shot dead mere hours after she publicly commented on illegal fishing in Baja California.

Reports indicate that criminal organizations routinely recruit vulnerable young women for perilous roles, such as drug trafficking, as they are viewed as expendable.

The devastating nature of drug-related femicides extends beyond the violence itself to encompass a vacuum of accountability, compounded by potential complicity among certain state entities.

In many regions of Mexico, law enforcement agents appear unwilling or unable to investigate female homicide cases.

The issue of femicide associated with drugs transcends military crackdowns and technocratic reforms, necessitating prioritization of community justice policies, survivor-led advocacy, and gender-sensitive policing practices.

The nature of this violence reflects a systematic and strategic manifestation of political violence, rather than being merely a cultural anomaly.

In areas heavily influenced by organized crime, the lines between criminal power and state authority often blur.

Police, politicians, and criminal groups frequently operate within overlapping networks, leaving minimal room for legitimate accountability.