Confrontación y acusaciones en medio de una desaparición

What does “ratero” or “ratera” mean in Spanish?

A ratero / ratera is a petty thief — a pickpocket or sneak-thief, not an armed robber — built straight off rata (rat), with the rodent’s scurrying, light-fingered connotation baked in. Hurled as an accusation (“eres una ratera”) it’s a sharp insult meaning you steal on the sly. The diminished scale is the point: a ratero nicks small things, quietly.

Distinguish the family: robar is to steal, a ladrón is a thief in general, an atracador robs with force, while a ratero specialises in petty, sneaky theft — bag-snatching, shoplifting, pickpocketing. The related ratería is petty thievery as a habit. Heard most in Mexico and across Latin America as everyday street vocabulary for small-time crooks.