Mexico: specter of US strikes amid cartel terror
Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez was assassinated during a Day of the Dead celebration Nov. 1 in the main square of Uruapan, in the violence-torn Mexican state of Michoacán. He had been an outspoken opponent of the drug cartels and their reign of terror in the state, and his death sparked protests across Michoacán. At a demonstration in state capital Morelia the day after the murder, protesters demanded the resignation of Gov. Ramírez Bedolla, of Mexico's ruling MORENA party; one faction broke into and vandalized the Government Palace. President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced a new "Michoacán Plan for Peace & Justice" to finally pacify the lawless state.
Manzo's assassin, who was killed by police on the scene, has been identified as a 17-year-old methamphetamine addict. Authorities are said to believe he was paid by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, whose suspected local plaza chief in Uruapan—identified as René N, or "El Rhino"—was arrested by city police in August.
This was the second prominent assassination in Michoacán in as many weeks. On Oct. 20, the body of Bernardo Bravo, president of the Apatzingan Valley Citrus Producers Association, was found in his vehicle on a rural road. He had been campaigning in recent months against the extortion demands of the cartels on local lime growers, and their cooptation of agriculture in the state to launder illicit activities.
Specter of US intervention
In a Twitter post after Manzo's assassination, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau (who served as ambassador to Mexico during Donald Trump's first term) wrote: "The US stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border."
But this comes as the specter of unilateral US military intervention has been raised. NBC News reported Nov. 3 that the Trump White House has started planning a "potential mission" involving US troops and intelligence officers to target the cartels on Mexican soil. Citing anonymous sources in the administration, NBC said that training has already begun for the mission, which could include drone strikes as well as ground operations inside Mexico. President Sheinbaum firmly rejected any possibility of US military intervention, stating that Mexicans are "united against any interference."
In February, the State Department designated six Mexican drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations"—the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the New Familia Michoacana, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, and the United Cartels. Simultaenously, the State Department conferred FTO designation on Central America's MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. (MND, MND, CBC, CNN, PRI, Milenio, CBS, NBC)
Violence erupts in Mexico after cartel leader 'El Mencho' killed
Armed clashes erupted in several areas of western Mexico Feb. 22 amid a military operation that led to the death of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader. Authorities said that 25 members of the National Guard have been killed in Jalisco in six separate attacks. Authorities said 30 criminal suspects were also killed in Jalisco state.
Federal security forces shot Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes AKA "El Mencho" during a raid in the Jalisco town of Tapalpa. He reportedly died while being flown to Mexico City.
Mencho was wanted in the US, where a $15 million reward had been in place for information leading to his capture. The US is said to have provided intelligence for the Mexican army operation leading to his death, via the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel. (CBS, PBS)
The violence is spreading beyond Jalsico, with more than 250 cartel "blockades" reported across 20 Mexican states. (PRI)
California man pleads guilty to CJNG conspiracy charge
Erick Valencia-Salazar, a California man who is said to have co-founded Mexico's Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), pleaded guilty on April 8 to a federal narcotics conspiracy charge.
Valencia-Salazar was arrested in Tapalpa, Jalisco, in 2022 for conspiring to send thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the US on behalf of the CJNG. His transfer to the US was part of a collaborative effort with the Mexican government, to ensure the transfer of 29 cartel leaders. His guilty plea carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Known as "El 85," Valencia-Salazar left the Milenio Cartel to start his own cartel with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the drug kingpin later known as "El Mencho." He supplied AK-47 and AR-15 rifles to the Milenio cartel’s gunmen before becoming responsible for the recruitment of hundreds of CJNG members. The CJNG is now one of Mexico's most powerful and deadly drug cartels, reportedly responsible for instability on both sides of the border. The cartel was officially designated by the US as a "foreign terrorist organization" in 2025. (Jurist)