Mexican cartels now charge money for shade or to allow a child to go to school

Donald Trump seeks a US-driven, continental anti-narco strategy as Mexican authorities struggle to prevail against cartels and cartel presence starts to grow in BC

Mexican troops patrol Tijuana in 2022 when narco violence shut down border traffic for three days. Cartel violence is endemic in much of Mexico and cartel control of the local economy reaches 40 per cent in some states.

In the cartel-ravaged states of Mexico, a tortilla seller, the parent of a school child or even a tree owner can be a target for extorti…