Transnational Entrepreneurs and Drug War Violence Between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso

Abstract

The Mexico-U.S. border was disproportionately impacted by the 2006 drug war violence and the 2008 global economic downturn that affected borderlands regions like Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and El Paso in the United States. This article explores the negative cross-border externalities associated with drug war violence, crime, and the economic downturn in Ciudad Juarez that interlocked to force entrepreneurs to migrate to El Paso, U.S. The data for this study is based on survey data (N= 35) collected from members of La Red, a network of Mexican and American business people investing in the El Paso economy who resettled in this region. Findings illustrate that transnational entrepreneurs were impacted by the negative externalities associated with the interlocking of violence and depreciating labor markets. In conclusion we argue that this migratory flow of Mexican entrepreneurs to the U.S. created a new border market.