MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s largest convenience store chain said Friday it will reopen 191 stores in the border city of Nuevo Laredo that it had closed last week because of drug cartel threats.
The Femsa corporation, which operates the Oxxo chain of convenience stores, said its stores and seven gas stations it operates will reopen Friday. Nuevo Laredo is located across the border from Laredo, Texas.
The company said it had reached an agreement with authorities for stepped-up police presence with “constant” patrols around the stores and the installation of panic buttons that can send a signal to police.
The store closures illustrated how even Mexico’s biggest firms are falling victim to gang demands for protection payments or information. A survey this week of Mexico’s larger corporations suggested gangs are increasingly trying to control the sale, distribution and pricing of certain goods.
Femsa said earlier this week it had long had to deal with cartel demands that its gas stations buy their fuel from certain distributors. But the straw that broke the camel’s back came in recent weeks when gang members abducted two store employees, demanding they act as lookouts or provide information to the gang.