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A Currency Bet Nearly as Certain as Cartel Profits
There’s a way to make a quick profit thanks to Mexico’s drug cartels. And it’s perfectly legal. It’s a currency trade, of all things, available every day inside Mexico City’s airport, where there’s a gap of about 3 percent between rates offered at dedicated exchange houses and local banks. Dollars bought cheaply from the currency dealers can be deposited at bank windows just a few feet away for a higher rate. The airport trade is a weird bit of arbitrage created by the unintended consequences of efforts to combat narcotics trafficking in the U.S. and Mexico. Regulations aimed at curbing money laundering ... (full story)