Mexican Beauty Queen - Miss Sinaloa Laura Zuniga - Caught In Drug Bust, May Lose Crown

Laura Zuniga, Miss Sinaloa 2008, was caught yesterday at a checkpoint in Guadalajara along with seven men suspected of drug smuggling. One of those men was said to be her boyfriend and is possibly linked to the Juarez cartel. Zuniga was found inside one of the group’s trucks, which were filled with guns and cash, and told police that she was going along with the men to Bolivia and Colombia “to go shopping.”

Gang member boyfriend + caught in a truck with guns + risking your shit to get pretty = we nominate her for chola of the year.

Laura Zuniga won the regional title for the Mexican state of Sinaloa, as well as winning a pageant in Bolivia as “Miss Hispanoamerica.” She was expected to compete in the Miss International pageant, representing Mexico. The managers of the pageants she has placed in are, of course, all abuzz with debate over whether to strip her of her various titles and crowns.

We wonder: Does it really matter? Naturally, we shouldn’t condone illegal behavior, but what’s the use in symbolically punishing a woman who most likely had nothing to do with the crime? The investigation will reveal whether she had any part in the criminal activity, but who really thinks that taking away some woman’s sparkly tiara is going to shame society as a whole into refraining from violent crime? Or perhaps just from dating dangerous drug dealers?

Mexican beauty queen caught in anti-drug raid [Reuters UK]
Mexican beauty queen arrested in gun-filled truck [AP]