npub1q3…mfg5m on Nostr: 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Washington’s War on Cartels or a Cartel Power Reset? El Mencho’s ...

🇲🇽🇺🇸 Washington’s War on Cartels or a Cartel Power Reset? El Mencho’s Fall Raises Bigger Questions

With the killing of El Mencho the leadership of the CJNG is up for grabs which may be a deliberate message by Washington to get an organization that plays the game in the US favor. Partnership not military/business rival.

In Washington, the operation is presented as a success. From the U.S. perspective, the costs are limited since American forces are not the ones taking casualties, at least for now. But operations of this scale often destabilize the internal balance and trigger further violence.

Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch has his own stake in the outcome. He survived an assassination attempt attributed to El Mencho’s network and is a declared enemy of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Trump’s 2025 pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted in the U.S. for facilitating cocaine shipments linked to Sinaloa, adds a broader geopolitical layer. CJNG and Sinaloa are long-standing rivals. Washington may not openly take sides, but its actions inevitably shift the balance. One network is hit hard, another benefits indirectly. Presented as a decisive victory, the outcome still amounts to a restructuring of power.