Targeting of a multinational business by a drug cartels

Foreign Companies at Risk in Mexico

LONDON – Risk mitigation company AKE has warned of further attacks on foreign companies in high risk parts of Mexico.
The warning comes after criminals attacked the assets of Sabritas, a subsidiary of Pepsi Co, on 25 May.

According to AKE Latin America specialist Taryn Evans this is the first direct targeting of a multinational business by a drug cartel.

“Sabritas is a very big brand in Mexico and the attacks, which took place in Michoacan and Guanajuato, demonstrate the strength of local criminal groups relative to law enforcement.”

“Rumours that the sites were attacked because the government were using Sabritas lorries to conduct surveillance are unlikely to be true. These attacks are common against small to medium enterprises and in almost every case they are the result of unpaid extortion demands.”

AKE now warns of further possible attacks on other large companies in the country, particularly in higher risk areas such as Michoacan, Guerrero and potentially against industrial producers in the northern border region.

The latest advice and analysis on the situation can be found on the Mexico page of Global IntAKE, the country risk intelligence service of the AKE Intelligence department.

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Taryn Evans  Bio

Taryn Evans Most recent columns Tarin Evans is a freelancer and work with Intelligence Analyst, AKE Ltd. +44 (0) 7764 177503 Taryn Evans monitors security and political trends in Latin America. She is also responsible for AKE’s quarterly kidnap report, which provides an in-depth analysis of kidnap for ransom trends worldwide. Founded in 1991 by Andrew Kain, AKE provides security, intelligence and risk-management services to insurance, shipping, engineering and energy sectors, as well as supporting NGOs and the news media in hostile environments. Tarin can be reached at:.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)