ON SUNDAY, IN the wake of a military operation to kill one of the country’s most infamous drug traffickers, clashes broke out across the Mexico, leaving dozens dead and producing shocking images of roadblocks, armed men in the streets, and panicked civilians ducking for cover.
Within hours of the operation in which troops killed cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in a rural hideout outside Guadalajara, gunmen loyal to his Jalisco New Generation Cartel group poured into the streets of several cities, burning buses and firing automatic weapons.
“The city was completely emptied,” said David Mora, an International Crisis Group analyst who happened to be in Guadalajara on Sunday, of the aftermath of the violence. “I mean it was a ghost town — there was no one on the streets yesterday.”
The fighting left at least 70 people dead, including 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard, which carried out the mission guided by intelligence from counterparts in U.S. military and law enforcement, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Cartels are like any gang: there’s social pressure to join, the promise of respect and riches, and for some, it may be the only way out of a life of poverty.
The problem is the rot runs too deep. Well intentioned politicians are murdered (to preserve power or existence), and the cartel often infiltrates police and armed forces to stay steps ahead.
Going after a cartel boss sends a message to the narcos (they’re not untouchable). I think you are right in the sense that the lower level members should have some way out of the lifestyle that doesn’t necessitate violence. That’s a hard problem to solve.