The article discusses Mexico's intensified offensive against drug cartels, highlighted by the recent killing of cartel leader El Mencho, which triggered retaliatory violence. It explains the cartels' power stems from systemic corruption and deep integration into Mexico's legal economy. The current crackdown is attributed to pressure from former U.S. President Donald Trump and the political stance of Mexico's president.
Main Topics Covered:
1. Mexico's government crackdown on drug cartels.
2. The power and influence of cartels through corruption and economic integration.
3. The triggering event of El Mencho's death and its violent aftermath.
4. The role of U.S. political pressure in the current offensive.
The World
Our correspondents discuss the challenges of Mexico’s war on drug cartels.
The news this week has been all about Iran and the Middle East. But I’m in Mexico City to discuss stories with our Latin America team. And I didn’t want to miss the chance to talk to my colleagues here about their part of the world, which has been pretty newsy, too.
Just this week, Ecuador made headlines when it asked the U.S. military for help combating its drug gangs. And last week, it was Mexico leading front pages around the globe when its security forces killed a notorious cartel leader known as El Mencho, setting off a wave of violence around the country.
Below is a conversation with two of my colleagues — our Mexico City bureau chief, Jack Nicas, and Maria Abi-Habib, our investigative correspondent for Latin America — about a different kind of war: Mexico’s war on drug cartels.
Mexico is cracking down on cartels. Will it make a difference?
Jack, why was the death of El Mencho such a big deal?
It’s a big deal because El Mencho, whose real name was Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, led the biggest cartel in Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. It’s hard to overstate his importance.
(Read about the rise and fall of El Mencho here.)
It’s also a big deal because this is the biggest achievement in the most aggressive offensive by the Mexican government against the cartels in more than a decade. People worry that it could open a new chapter of violence. Immediately after El Mencho’s death, his cartel’s members essentially went on a rampage. They burned cars and supermarkets, set up roadblocks and killed at least 20 members of the National Guard. This was them showing they’re not going down without a fight.
We’re having this conversation in a hip hotel in Mexico City. Maria, are we in a bubble here?
The cartels don’t flex very much in Mexico City. It’s not important to them strategically. There’s not a port because it’s inland. There’s not a major highway that you need to use to get to the U.S.
It reminds me a little of Afghanistan, where I lived from 2010 to 2013. Kabul was very safe. You could walk down the street as a woman. But as soon as you left Kabul, it felt extremely dangerous, and that’s because the Taliban had the same strategy: We’ll take the periphery and leave Kabul alone — at least initially.
That’s not to say that the cartels will take over the capital — or that Mexico is as dangerous as Afghanistan!
Jack, how did the cartels become this powerful?
One answer is systemic corruption. The cartels have over the years, with bribes and threats, infiltrated and co-opted the state. They basically have eyes and ears in a number of government and security agencies. That’s how they usually know when the authorities are making moves against them.
One local newspaper actually uncovered El Mencho’s ledgers, where he apparently kept a meticulous record of those bribes. There was even a line item for an attorney general’s office, although we don’t know which one.
And the other piece is that these cartels don’t just sell drugs, they are also embedded in the wider economy, right? Maria, you told me they’re almost like Fortune 500 companies.
Yes, they’re part of Mexico’s economy to a degree that we’ve never seen before. They’re trading avocados; they’re involved in hotels and the tourism industry; they even make money off little league football. Some economists suspect that if the cartels stopped all their activities, there would be an economic earthquake.
But the government has decided to crack down in a big way. Why now, Jack?
The short answer is, Donald Trump. He basically said, if Mexico doesn’t shut down the drug trade, he’ll impose 25 percent tariffs or even start bombing Mexican drug labs.
The slightly longer answer is that this was something that Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, seemed inclined to do anyway, even before Trump was elected. Then Trump, in a way, forced her hand — or, some analysts believe, gave her political cover. There is internal resistance and tension within her party over her aggressive approach. But she’s been able to say, I don’t really have a choice.
Has it worked?
It’s early days, but homicides do seem to be declining. The government has also arrested almost 100 high-level cartel operatives. The question is: Will it make a difference? Or will the cartels just reassemble?
Maria, does the Mexican military have what it takes to shut these cartels down for good?
It would certainly be a very big test for the military. I don’t think they could take on a full-on war with Mexico’s two biggest cartels, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, without significant help from the U.S. They’re already struggling to take on the Sinaloa Cartel in Culiacán; if they opened up a second front against the Jalisco cartel, which is even more powerful, we believe, I worry that they couldn’t handle it.
Mexican forces haven’t fought a big war in a very, very long time. The cartels, on the other hand, are fighting each other every single day.
MORE TOP NEWS
Updates on the war in the Middle East
Lebanon: Israel called for an evacuation of Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the militant group Hezbollah holds sway, prompting fears that it might be about to begin a large-scale bombing campaign there. Israel’s ground forces have also advanced several miles into Lebanon, and it is massing armored vehicles along the border for a potentially much larger ground incursion.
Kurds: Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq are preparing armed units that could enter Iran, potentially creating a new front in the conflict. (For background, read this: Who are the Kurds?)
Succession: President Trump said he should have a role in picking a new leader for Iran, saying that Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was an “unacceptable” choice.
Azerbaijan: The Defense Ministry said that two Iranian drones had struck Nakhchivan, near Iran’s northern border. Iran denied responsibility and blamed the action on Israel.
OTHER NEWS
Trump fired Kristi Noem, his embattled homeland security secretary, who oversaw a violent immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
China set its lowest economic growth target in decades and announced an increase in military spending.
Ethiopia’s demand for access to the Red Sea is driving fears of a new war with Eritrea.
A German court sentenced a Syrian refugee to 13 years in prison for stabbing a Spanish tourist last year at a Holocaust memorial in Berlin.
On a trip to Australia, Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada called on “middle powers” to band together and resist Trump.
Top of The World
The most clicked link in your newsletter yesterday was about chimpanzees obsessed with crystals.
SPORTS
Paralympics: Britain and several European countries are boycotting today’s opening ceremony to protest the participation of Russia and Belarus.
Cricket: India beat England in thrilling fashion to secure a spot in Sunday’s T20 World Cup final.
Baseball: Players wearing 67 jersey numbers are getting some extra attention this year.
BITE OF THE DAY
A tentative McDonald’s nibble
When the McDonald’s chief executive, Chris Kempczinski, posted a video of himself eating a new kind of burger last month, the internet deemed that his bite lacked gusto, and mocked him mercilessly. “We all know you didn’t eat the rest of that, buddy,” one commenter wrote.
MORNING READ
A Belgian cryptocurrency tycoon is trying to build a libertarian paradise named Destiny on the Caribbean island of Nevis. If it receives the necessary government approvals, Destiny would live by its own rules and regulations, though the precise structure of its government remains unclear. A law passed there last summer laid the groundwork for his vision.
But many locals — Nevis is home to just 13,000 residents — just aren’t buying it. They reject the idea of a Bitcoin bro administering portions of their island as his own fief. Read more.
AROUND THE WORLD
The desk salad arrives in Paris
Parisian office workers, renowned for taking luxuriously long lunches, have embraced the giant North American-style salad.
Apparently, even the chicest Parisians sometimes hunger for “slop bowls,” as they are often called. “My French co-workers call it the ‘influencer lunch,’” one salad fan said.
A boom of healthy, fast-casual restaurants coincides with a recent rise of wellness culture in France, evident in the proliferation of Pilates studios, matcha bars and even a huge wellness sanctuary in the iconic Place Vendôme. Read more.
RECIPE
One particular joy of the pavlova, a dessert named in honor of a Russian ballerina, is that its meringue base can be made in advance. In this recipe, it’s served with strawberries, a little balsamic vinegar, vanilla and whipped cream.
WHERE IS THIS?
Where is this street scene?
BEFORE YOU GO …
I was 19 when I backpacked through Mexico with a friend. It was the 1990s. We took buses to Chiapas and Oaxaca, slept in hammocks and, on one occasion, washed plates to earn dinner in a posh restaurant.
We also spent a couple of weeks in Mexico City. It was charming then, but I was stunned on this trip by its transformation into a global, edgy, hip capital for culture, food and remote work. Sadly I missed the Shakira concert on the Zócalo last Sunday!
I could give you my touristy highlights (Frida Kahlo’s house! Teotihuacan!), but I thought instead I’d ask Jack and Maria for theirs.
Maria raves about the Anahuacalli Museum. Designed by Diego Rivera (who married Kahlo twice!), it hosts his giant collection of pre-Hispanic art and sketches for some of his most famous murals.
Jack loves tamales even more than tacos, so he recommends any of the savory ones at Tamales Doña Emi in Roma Sur. His advice: Get there early before they sell out.
He also suggests going dancing at Mimi, a hidden rooftop nightclub with the largest disco ball in town, according to his reporting.
Speaking of dancing, which we did a lot of last night, first in one of Mexico City’s oldest cantinas, and then at Jack’s house, I have this banger for you: “Gasolina” by Daddy Yankee, who’s Puerto Rican, but popular here (and really, who doesn’t like this song?).
Have the best weekend! — Katrin
TIME TO PLAY
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Katrin Bennhold is the host of The World, the flagship global newsletter of The New York Times.
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