Cecilia Farfán-Méndez

Benjamin Smith, historian of the Mexican drug trade. Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, expert on transnational crime and firearms trafficking. Deborah Bonello, investigative reporter on organised crime. They discuss the violent CJNG backlash after El Mencho’s death. They cover blockades and burnings, cartel show-of-force tactics, military raids and political timing, US-Mexico security ties, and risks as the World Cup approaches.

Violence erupted across Mexico after the killing of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, on Sunday. Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was the head of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, an organization that trafficked drugs across multiple Mexican states and countries. The killing signaled an aggressive and unexpected approach from Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to confronting organized crime. As the chaos settles and shelter in place restrictions lift, the relationship between Mexico’s drug kingpins, the government and the rest of society remains unclear. We talk about what the killing means for Mexico and the United States and what could happen next. Guests: Javier Cabral, editor, L.A. Taco - independent local news and culture site; Associate producer for the Taco Chronicles on Netflix Oswaldo Zavala, professor of Latin American Literature and Culture, City University of New York - College of Staten Island; author of “Drug Cartels Do Not Exist: Narcotrafficking in US and Mexican Culture.”<br /> Cecilia Farfán-Méndez, head of the North American Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices