A look back at the days when tequila was the drug smuggled across the Mexico-US border

In February 1927, successful Jim Hogg County, Texas, a radical of mounted U.S. customs inspectors successful Texas came upon a enactment of smugglers who had crossed implicit the borderline from Mexico. Gunfire was exchanged, 1 smuggler was killed and six horses and respective 100 bottles of intoxicant were seized.

Yes, you work that right: alcohol. Specifically, Mexican tequila. 

This incidental is the past recorded struggle betwixt U.S. instrumentality enforcement and a long-gone marque of Mexican tequila smugglers, collectively called tequileros (tequila runners). During the aboriginal years of U.S. Prohibition, the tequilero brought intoxicant crossed the Rio Grande to anxious customers successful the United States, chafing nether caller national laws banning the production, merchantability and depletion of alcohol.

Authorities successful Orange County, California, dumping amerciable intoxicant successful 1932. (Orange County Archives)

A agelong borderline commercialized tradition

Goods had ever moved crossed the Rio Grande. Eggs mightiness fetch a higher terms successful the north, oregon a factory-made garment could beryllium taken southbound for a profit. However, successful 1848, the Rio Grande was established arsenic the bound betwixt Mexico and Texas, and what had antecedently been commercialized was abruptly smuggling. 

Movement of goods continued arsenic a common, small-scale enactment crossed the borderline area, with textiles, rawhides and lace arsenic noted commodities. The information that determination was present a borderline brought the hazard of seizure of definite goods by authorities, but import taxes accrued the outgo of those aforesaid goods, and truthful cross-border commercialized went connected beauteous overmuch arsenic before, with immoderate of it present called smuggling.  

With the borderline areas inactive a sparsely populated world, with families having relations oregon friends connected some sides of the borderline and with checkpoints lone occurring each 50 miles, small-scale smuggling had agelong been a portion of beingness by the clip the tequileros emerged successful the 1920s.

Smugglers had agelong known the quiescent paths and tracks toward Texas, arsenic good arsenic the husbandman on the mode who mightiness beryllium consenting to rent retired a donkey for a night’s work. There was nary stigma to an enactment that was seen arsenic doing nary harm to anyone. While Mexico’s predominant rebellions and unrest of the play did pb to a deadly cross-border arms commercialized that inspired occasional superior attempts to adjacent the smuggling routes, governments often turned a unsighted eye. 

A caller and profitable play began successful 1919 erstwhile U.S. Prohibition began, launching a steadfast marketplace for Mexican intoxicant — tequila and cognac were the favorites — and launching the property of the tequilero on the border.

During Prohibition, borderline cities similar Tijuana besides became hubs for U.S. residents looking for a stiff drink. The upscale Vernon Bar successful Tijuana catered to border-crossing Americans arsenic seen successful this 1922 photo. (University of California-San Diego)

Tequilero gangs were mostly small-scale affairs: typically 3 to six workplace boys, usually connected horses, guiding a fewer well-packed mules. These were locals who knew the quiescent low-water crossings on the Rio Grande betwixt the Texas towns of Zapata and Los Ebanos. 

They often worked with Tejano friends oregon relations connected the different broadside of the border. These Texas-born Mexican Americans acted arsenic guides and could find markets for the contraband successful section bars oregon knew however to get it to the Texas municipality of San Diego, which had go the transit constituent for bigger Texas cities similar San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Dallas and Houston.

Tequileros knew however to battalion their draught animals truthful that a beardown donkey oregon mule could transportation 50 oregon much bottles, protected by layers of hay oregon writer that some prevented the bottles from breaking and muffled the clanking that mightiness springiness them away. 

The tequilero’s nemesis: The Texas Ranger

The tequileros enjoyed a play of occurrence but yet caught the authorities’ attention. The Texas government, contempt the area’s notable drinking culture, had introduced fierce laws to enforce the drinking ban, and the courts were flooded with alcohol-related transgression cases. 

There was a ample racist constituent here. The section husbandman who made home-brewed moonshine from his surplus harvest was usually near alone. The cross-border tequila trade, however, was fiercely hunted down. 

Texas Ranger Captain William L. Wright, seen present connected his equine successful an undated photo, hunted down tequileros. He reportedly ordered the ambush of 3 Mexicans who became renowned successful the corrido “Los Tequileros,” which told the communicative of their deadly confrontation with the Rangers. (U.S. Library of Congress)

This was successful portion owed to fear: It had lone been a fewer years since the tallness of the Bandit Wars, when, successful the 2nd decennary of the 20th century, Mexican and Mexican American “Sedicionistas” had regularly attacked tiny Texas communities successful the anticipation of annexing U.S. borderline territory to Mexico. There was a genuine fearfulness connected the portion of the Texas authorities that the smuggling commercialized could acceptable disconnected a similar wave of violence.

Smugglers had to woody with U.S. Customs inspectors supported by Texas Rangers. The Rangers had been formed successful 1835 to protect the aboriginal settlers and for galore years felt their work was inactive to enactment “white folks” from Native Americans and from taste Mexicans. 

There had been reforms, and the Rangers were connected the mode to respectability, producing men specified arsenic Frank Hamer, who would combat the Ku Klux Klan and triumph fame in 1934 for sidesplitting the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. However, an mean idiosyncratic of Mexican ethnicity would not privation to transverse paths with a Texas Ranger. 

The lure of speedy money

There has, arsenic yet, not been a definite survey of the tequila commercialized successful this era, but the profits are believed to person been substantial: When 1 mule bid was intercepted, the authorities seized 550 bottles, suggesting determination were 11 oregon much mules successful the train. Local papers valued the seizure astatine US $1,375, astir $20,000 successful today’s money.

A sheriff called Jesse Perez spoke of the “Lone-Rum-Running Jackass of Starr County,” a donkey taken implicit the border, loaded with bottles and acceptable escaped astatine night. According to legend, this astonishing “homing donkey” ever managed to find his mode location with the smuggled goods connected his back. 

But contempt specified lighter fare, the world was that smugglers faced challenges and risks successful getting crossed the Mexico-U.S. border. Even if they escaped decease oregon seizure by the Rangers, the chances of losing their shipment — and possibly the equine and mules — were high, and this could hitch retired respective trips’ profits.

Nevertheless, for a while, the tequilero beingness seemed worthy the hazard for some: It was said astatine the clip that aft 2 oregon 3 palmy trips, a smuggler could spend to bargain a car. And to many, smugglers were heroes, section boys violently persecuted by the Texas Rangers, who would ambush and termination them without thought. 

These smugglers’ stories mightiness beryllium poorly recorded, but 1 of the champion mirrors lies successful the corridos, Mexican people songs, written astir them, the astir celebrated of which is “Los Tequileros,” the communicative of Leandro, Silvano and Geronimo, who cod their tequila successful Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, and program a 100-kilometer trek to San Diego, Texas. The 3 men are ambushed upon accomplishment successful the U.S. by the “rinches” — a slang sanction for the Texas Rangers — and are each killed.

The communicative of tequileros Leandro, Silvano and Gerónimo, immortalized successful the corrido “Los Tequileros,” has been recorded by aggregate Mexican bands successful the modern era.

The opus reflects the cognition of galore — that tequileros were simply mediocre section boys trying to get by, and that the “rinches” were convulsive agents of the U.S. government.

The extremity of the tequileros

However, by the precocious 1920s, circumstances had changed, and the days erstwhile smuggling seemed similar small much than an breathtaking escapade for restless Mexican workplace boys were rapidly coming to an end. 

At this point, tequileros were not the lone root of intoxicant disposable successful the U.S. Moonshiners and smugglers moving domestically done ports and harbors emerged arsenic competitors and prevented the tequileros from pushing their prices precocious capable to warrant the risks involved.

By the past 5 years of Prohibition, which ended successful 1933, intoxicant smuggling crossed the Rio Grande had, to each applicable purposes, travel to a quiescent end.

Bob Pateman lived successful Mexico for six years. He is simply a librarian and teacher with a Master’s Degree successful History.