The killing of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes may look like a decisive victory in the war on drugs. But in Washington and Mexico City, it is also being viewed as something more strategic: a visible response to mounting U.S. pressure that has reshaped Mexico’s approach to the cartels.
The operation, carried out by Mexican forces with U.S. intelligence support, underscores deepening coordination between the two governments as fentanyl trafficking remains a central political and security issue in the United States.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., told Fox News Digital he had personally warned Mexican officials last year that Washington expected stronger action. “In August of last year, I went down to Mexico. I took a trip to El Salvador, Panama and Mexico, and I met with senior officials in the Mexican government. The message I conveyed to them was that they needed to get serious about fighting the cartels to stop the drug trafficking into America and to stop the human trafficking into America. I told them that if they didn’t get serious, President Trump was going to.”
“This was before the Maduro raid,” Cruz added, “But the raid was not a surprise — it was clear the president was going to do what was necessary to keep America safe. I will say that Mexico has pivoted sharply, and this is a real manifestation of that. Thousands of Americans are alive today because Trump was re-elected and Republicans were put in charge of Congress. If we had kept the Democrats’ open-border policies in place, there would be thousands more Americans dead from murder, other violent crime and drug overdoses.”
HEGSETH SAYS US STRIKES FORCE SOME CARTEL LEADERS TO HALT DRUG OPERATIONS
Melissa Ford Maldonado, director of Western Hemisphere at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital the strike reflects a broader shift in incentives driven by Washington.
“U.S. pressure has absolutely shaped Mexico’s actions. Pressure is the only thing that compels the Mexican state to act,” Ford Maldonado said. “The Trump administration has been explicit in linking trade leverage and even the possibility of unilateral action to Mexico’s performance against the cartels, which has completely changed the incentive structure in Mexico City. When Washington demands visible results, Mexico is under pressure to produce something visible.”
She said the killing itself fits that dynamic. “The killing of El Mencho is an attempt to do that,” she said. “El Mencho was one of the most wanted men in the hemisphere, and Jalisco New Generation cartel is among the most violent and militarized cartels in Mexico. His death gives the Mexican government something concrete to point to — a high-value target — and claim they’re delivering. But these are only tactical wins, designed to relieve immediate pressure from Washington.”
DEATH TOLL RISES AFTER MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL LEADER KILLED IN US-BACKED OPERATION
Ford Maldonado cautioned that high-profile takedowns have historically failed to produce lasting stability.
“The problem is that tactical wins are not the same thing as strategic change. Tactical wins aren’t enough anymore. If they were, the long list of past arrests and extraditions would have solved this already. I believe Washington is looking for something deeper now: the disruption of the ecosystem that allows cartel power to thrive. Mexico has a problem with corruption, territorial control and political protection, and they must address the political and financial networks that keep the cartels in power.”
She also pointed to internal Mexican political dynamics that may complicate the narrative.
In June 2020, Omar García Harfuch, then Mexico City’s chief of police, survived an assassination attempt widely attributed to El Mencho. García Harfuch is now Mexico’s secretary of security and citizen protection and oversaw the operation that killed the cartel leader.
“Therefore, there may be other motives involved,” Ford Maldonado said. “Jalisco New Generation cartel has been in a long-standing and very bloody rivalry with the Sinaloa cartel, which some say is the traditional cartel partner of the Morena regime. So, if the Mexican government goes after the rivals of a cartel it’s long been accused of tolerating or working alongside, that alone doesn’t prove it has truly broken with cartel-state collusion.”
For now, she said, the killing is significant but not definitive.
“Unfortunately, history has shown that killing a cartel leader rarely produces lasting stability. It disrupts command and control temporarily,” she said. “Whether this is a real turning point depends on what comes next, specifically, whether enforcement moves beyond high-profile cartel leaders and begins to confront the political and financial networks that sustain them. Until then, this is significant, but it’s not transformative.”
Cruz warned Mexico officials ‘President Trump was going to’ act if they didn’t fight cartels 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-02-23 19:31:07 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
