Stealing Cars: Technology and Society from the Model T to the Gran Torino

5. Mexico, the United States, and International Auto Theft

115 5 Mexico, the United States, and International Auto Theft Borderlines are by their very nature what security analysts call “crimogenic” conditions. Because they divide markets and restrict the exchange of goods and people, creating differentials and asymmetries in cost and incentive and profit, criminal enterprises usually take advantage of these conditions and exploit the asymmetries: auto theft, money laundering, trafficking, black markets, smuggling, prostitution. JOSH KUH, 2013 Borders—especially national borders—have always been the car thief’s best friend. Stolen cars have been transported illegally across international boundaries from the early days of Brass-Era cars to the present. The motor vehicle is a valuable commodity to an enterprising criminal or organization with access to markets that are in disarray and where oversight is hard to maintain. Hotspots abound in the world today, particularly in the war-torn countries of Africa, Central America, and the Middle East, and where there are entrenched black markets such as in eastern Europe and Russia. What is required is the ability to steal, transport, alter the papers for, and dispose of cars across vast distances. Over the years, efforts to thwart international thieves have become increasingly sophisticated, both technologically and organizationally, but so have the methods used by these criminals. It is hard to say who has the upper hand currently, since actors, regions, and techniques are constantly in flux. This chapter focuses on relations between the United States and Mexico. The long history of auto theft involving these two nations provides insight into how a complex negotiated process has evolved. In addition, the inherent problems facing countries with vastly different 116 STEALING CARS cultures, resources, institutions, and markets illustrates the complex picture worldwide. Although the timeline follows historical developments in Mexico, the lessons have far-reaching implications that are relevant to the modern-day context. A TROUBLED HISTORY OF CARS AND CRIME: THE MEXICAN VICE INDUSTRY TAKES ROOT The movement of stolen cars into Mexico reflects contrasts between the world’s most advanced country and one that has been transitioning for over a century from the corrupting influence of a centralized government to one that is more democratic and decentralized. From the outset, inequality contributed to a well-established vice industry in Mexico that was obvious to American tourists long before cars were commonly seen on its streets. This early vice industry and the subsequent growth of powerful drug cartels provide a window into the trade of stolen cars, since car theft followed the path of organized crime and corruption in Mexico. Within the United States, international auto theft changed over time to reflect the importance of gangs, the significance of technological advancements, demographics, and the rise of regional responses. Prior to the period entering the 2000s, car theft across the Mexican border can be divided into three general periods: (1) before the 1920s, (2) the 1920s to the 1950s, and (3) the 1960s to the 1990s.¹ THE PRE-1920s: SETTING THE STAGE Before automobiles defined the landscape, Mexico’s vice industry and the U.S. involvement in it were taking root. American entrepreneurs actively invested in activities that were illegal in the United States but located across the border in burgeoning Mexican towns that were accessible by train or horse. Mexico flourished as a haven for gambling, prostitution, greyhound racing, and bullfighting during the Progressive Era (1890s–1920). These pursuits became entrenched in the course of MEXICO, THE UNITED STATES, AND INTERNATIONAL AUTO THEFT 117 the decade-long Mexican Revolution (1910–20), when the border area was in chaos.² Colonel Estéban Cantú’s reign over the northern part of Baja California provides an example of how graft became firmly established in the region. In 1915, in the midst of the revolution, when regional authority often surpassed that of the national government, Cantú issued a gaming permit for the Feria Típica, or Tijuana Fair, that showcased entertainment outlawed in California, including cockfights, boxing, gambling, races, bullfights, and prizefighting. By the end of the year, American promoters were also investing in racing, gambling, casinos , cantinas, bullfighting, and brothels. Cantú benefited both from monthly licensing fees and from smuggling opium, opiates, cocaine, and morphine into the United States.³ But ordinary Mexicans did not gain from these relationships. Border barons enjoyed a monopoly that excluded Mexican businessmen. Foreign-owned businesses charged less than the prevailing prices, putting local businesses at a disadvantage , and only the lowest-paying jobs were given...