El Mencho Is Gone, but His Cartel’s Reach Still Runs Deep in the U.S.

The Mexican government’s killing of one of the world’s biggest kingpins, known as “El Mencho,” is being heralded as a major blow to drug trafficking.

But it did little to dismantle his cartel’s critical U.S. operations, which will continue fueling its dominance unless Washington steps up the fight inside its own territory, U.S. and Mexican security sources said.

According to Reuters, Mexican special forces killed the elusive drug lord Nemesio Oseguera in a U.S.-backed raid on Feb. 22. It was the biggest takedown of a cartel kingpin in at least a decade.

El Mencho’s Jalisco New Generation ‌Cartel responded by torching buildings and blockading roads across Mexico in a terrifying display of its territorial reach that grabbed headlines worldwide.

On the U.S. side of the border, the cartel also has extensive networks that receive far less attention yet are the lifeblood of its power and profits, current and former U.S. and Mexican officials said. These enable ‌it to source military-grade weapons, smuggle billions of dollars’ worth of fuel, and launder billions more in cartel cash.

“The United States has become increasingly important to cartels, especially the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, for it to thrive,” said Alamdar Hamdani, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that the Trump administration “has worked closely with the Mexican government to stop the scourge of drugs and criminals entering our country” ​and that this cooperation led to the “elimination of infamous narcoterrorist ‘El Mencho.'”

“The president will continue to do everything in his power to keep America safe from these vicious criminals and the drugs they use to poison our country,” she added.

Washington heaped pressure on Mexico to step up the cartel fight ahead of the raid against the once untouchable drug lord.

Such actions are risky for the Mexican government because they can spark a wave of violence in a country where the drug war has already cost tens of thousands of lives.

The decision by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to escalate her crackdown has prompted renewed calls for the U.S. to do more on its side of the border.

“The United States can’t turn a blind eye to Mexico’s demands any longer,” said Mexican Congressman Alfonso Ramirez Cuellar, a close ally of Sheinbaum.

He said the U.S. needed to improve efforts to go after money laundering, fuel smuggling and, above all, weapons smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico.

“We can’t stop drug traffickers if the United States continues allowing them to strengthen their military capabilities,” he said.

The U.S. has built and prosecuted hundreds of cases related to cartel-related ‌activity inside the U.S. in recent years.

But the Trump administration last year diverted thousands of agents, including many specializing in drugs, ⁠firearms, and money laundering, away from such cases and to the mass deportation effort.

Reuters also reported in September that the number of people charged with drug conspiracies and money laundering fell significantly last year.

“The Trump administration has predominantly focused on highly militarized actions against drugs abroad and has not paid similar attention to actions at home,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a security expert.

A spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Justice said the administration was “acutely focused on securing the border, prosecuting violent traffickers, deporting any and all members of cartel networks and ensuring they are held accountable for their ⁠horrific crimes against the American people.”

The department also pointed to a string of recent cases, including against high-ranking members of the Jalisco cartel.

Click here to read the complete, original article by Laura Gottesdiener, Stefanie Eschenbacher, and Sarah Kinosian on Reuters

Source: Reuters

The Mazatlan Post

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