Mexican Secretary of Defense Ricardo Trevilla Trejo choked up at a Monday press conference in Mexico City as he paid homage to the 25 Mexican National Guardsmen who lost their lives on Sunday. They died fighting off cartel reprisals for the military operation that killed drug kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera earlier in the day.
Newspapers hang on display for sale in Mexico City, Monday, Feb 23, a day after the Mexican army killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho.” (AP)
The secretary outlined events leading to the capture of Oseguera, who was wounded and died in custody. He praised the national guard for having “fulfilled its mission.” Congratulations are in order for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum too.
Her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), followed a “hugs not gunshots” appeasement policy toward the cartels that was a disaster. Organized crime now controls wide swaths of Mexico, producing and trafficking drugs, kidnapping for ransom, and running shakedown rackets. The cartels use their ill-gotten gains to elect sympathetic politicians or kill those who resist. No matter what you think of the U.S. war on drugs, organized crime can’t be allowed to grow this powerful in a democracy.
Ms. Sheinbaum took an early step toward confronting the cartels by appointing former Mexico City super-cop Omar García Harfuch as her secretary of Security and Citizen Protection. On Sunday she showed new seriousness by going after the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
CJNG struck back later in the day by ambushing military installations around the country. In several cities they commandeered buses, setting them on fire and blocking roads. Black plumes of smoke rose above the resort town of Puerto Vallarta and tourists were unable to leave.
Mexico fought back successfully, and 30 suspected criminals were killed in counterattacks launched by the cartel. The government says 70 people were detained in seven states. Authorities confiscated military-grade weapons, rocket launchers, high-powered rifles and armored vehicles—an illustration that the cartels are essentially small armies.
Ms. Sheinbaum went out of her way Monday to assure Mexicans that no U.S. troops were part of the operation on Mexican territory. But last year the Trump Administration designated the CJNG a foreign terrorist organization, and Mexico has been working with U.S. intelligence—including drone surveillance flights—to combat cartels. President Trump has been pressing Ms. Sheinbaum to cooperate, and she has.
Most Mexicans, apart from many in Ms. Sheinbaum’s Morena party, welcome the assistance. They’re tired of cartel violence like the murder of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in Michoacán state who was gunned down for standing up to cartel extortionists. Their country has become lawless in many places and they want relief.
Mr. Trump can also help by telling Americans to stop feeding the cartels by using drugs, and he can roll up networks in the U.S. Mexico can expect more violence if it continues to press its cartel campaign, but that is one price of letting the drug lords gain so much power.
