Even pharmacies get extorted in Mexico

Mexico abounds with pharmacies. Sometimes it seems like there's one on every corner -- certainly far more than in the U.S. Now it appears that they too are being hit up for the dreaded derecho de piso, or "floor charge." That's an extortionist's slang for the weekly or monthly fee a business owner must pay if he wants to prevent his establishment from being torched or blown up. Or of perhaps greater concern, if he wants to avoid his and/or a family member's sudden decapitation.

Even though most pharmacies here are large chains and are corporate owned, the extortionists could care less. In some parts of central Mexico, reported extortion demands have increased 40% since last year. Officials say that the extortionists are frequently minors, who threaten store owners with robbery and/or murder if their demands are not met. It is unclear whether they're acting on their own or on behalf of organized crime enterprises such as the drug cartels.

Extortion is so rampant in this country that it became punishable by life imprisonment in December 2010. That penalty was just meted out for the first time on September 12. Read about the case and how extortion works in Mexico here: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/life-sentence-for-mexican-extortionists.html; and here: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/extortion-in-mexico-one-way-its-done.html.

Footnote: According to an October 6 article in the Mexican newspaper El Universal, there are 24,000 retail pharmacies in the country.