El Mencho was the last of the old guard—the final mass-trafficking titan standing alongside El Chapo and El Mayo—now fallen, marking the end of an era in Mexican organized crime. The era, typified by fame and big names splashed across books, TV shows, and international arrest warrants, began around 1990, the time in which El Chapo rose to prominence.
The Sinaloa cartel has done this a couple of times, once when Guzman’s son was captured the first time by the federals, they started burning shit and blockading roads and whatever else, shooting shit, in a show of force and the federals released him.
Since then I guess that might have emboldened them at this strategy, Mexico seems like they won’t repeat that kind of capitulation.
But yes, it’s rather random, they burnt some supermarkets in the Yucatan even just yesterday or whatever and that’s not even the same state. It would make more sense to do targeted violence, but also would further escalate things.
The federal units are rather known for being heavy handed, and torturing people. Also half of their cartels are now run by their former army guys, they use army units for most of this, I called them federals but it’s mostly armed forces.
After the US got Calderon in the 00’s to target the cartels, it was mostly sinaloa, as I understand it, and they played a long game, quiet, sneaking product in shipments, working through existing criminal networks. After they were smashed, they splintered into multiple other groups that fell into fighting over territory, many of which supplanted existing criminal groups rather than working with them.
In that fighting, many brought in former army guys for protection, the zetas, and those zetas predictably ended up seizing control of a great many. It’s actually indicative of the future of the Mexican state itself. Any time you bring the army into domestic affairs, it’s a matter of time before they see the levers of power, the weakness of civilian leaders, and they subordinate the political leadership, if not take it outright.
But anyway, half of the cartels are now run by these former army guys, like the specialized army units that hunt these cartels, that are known for executing prisoners and torturing them and such.
The Sinaloa cartel has done this a couple of times, once when Guzman’s son was captured the first time by the federals, they started burning shit and blockading roads and whatever else, shooting shit, in a show of force and the federals released him.
Since then I guess that might have emboldened them at this strategy, Mexico seems like they won’t repeat that kind of capitulation.
But yes, it’s rather random, they burnt some supermarkets in the Yucatan even just yesterday or whatever and that’s not even the same state. It would make more sense to do targeted violence, but also would further escalate things.
The federal units are rather known for being heavy handed, and torturing people. Also half of their cartels are now run by their former army guys, they use army units for most of this, I called them federals but it’s mostly armed forces.
After the US got Calderon in the 00’s to target the cartels, it was mostly sinaloa, as I understand it, and they played a long game, quiet, sneaking product in shipments, working through existing criminal networks. After they were smashed, they splintered into multiple other groups that fell into fighting over territory, many of which supplanted existing criminal groups rather than working with them.
In that fighting, many brought in former army guys for protection, the zetas, and those zetas predictably ended up seizing control of a great many. It’s actually indicative of the future of the Mexican state itself. Any time you bring the army into domestic affairs, it’s a matter of time before they see the levers of power, the weakness of civilian leaders, and they subordinate the political leadership, if not take it outright.
But anyway, half of the cartels are now run by these former army guys, like the specialized army units that hunt these cartels, that are known for executing prisoners and torturing them and such.