Will Mexico’s Jalisco cartel’s violent biz model survive El Mencho’s death? | Drugs News
Monterrey, Mexico — Portraits of the missing persons line Guadalajara’s “Roundabout of the Disappeared,” a site renamed by families to draw attention to the ongoing crisis of disappearances in the state.
On February 22, the streets around the memorial and throughout the city remained largely vacant after the Mexican army killed Rubén Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
In response, cartel members retaliated by setting fire to buses and taxis, creating blockades that spanned 20 states. The unrest highlighted the CJNG’s ability to rapidly coordinate violent actions, facilitated by a franchise model that allows smaller groups to operate under the cartel’s umbrella.
Economically, the CJNG extends its influence into Europe and Asia, but its power is significantly supported by a paramilitary structure. This framework employs tactics of extortion, brutal violence, and forced disappearances as methods to control territory and monopolize markets.
Oseguera Cervantes, commonly known as “El Mencho,” built one of Mexico’s most formidable criminal organizations through this franchise model. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the CJNG operates in every Mexican state and has a presence in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa, primarily focusing on the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.
Raúl Zepeda Gil, a teaching fellow in War Studies at King’s College London, explained that the CJNG does not adhere to a conventional organizational hierarchy. “Instead, profits can be distributed across many locations and groups simultaneously,” he noted.
The CJNG maintains control of critical regions in western Mexico, including the Pacific Coast ports of Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas, essential for importing synthetic precursor chemicals. Zepeda emphasized that the cartel’s principal activity is drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl.
In addition to drug trade, the CJNG engages in fuel theft, illegal mining, extortion, migrant smuggling, and money laundering. On February 19, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a timeshare fraud scheme operated by the CJNG that targeted elderly Americans, highlighting the long-standing issues associated with such criminal enterprises.
The expansive reach and rapid growth of the CJNG are attributed to its robust network, which safeguards drug trafficking operations and ensures a level of impunity. Carlos Flores, an investigator at the Center for Research and Higher Education in Social Anthropology, stated that these “hegemonic power networks” include influential business leaders, politicians, and criminals who manipulate state institutions to further their interests.
Forced disappearances and extortion are critical for the CJNG’s market control, instilling fear in communities and facilitating forced recruitment. This strategy ensures a continuous supply of labor while minimizing legal repercussions through a “no body, no crime” approach.
Since the CJNG emerged in 2010, homicides and forced disappearances have surged in Jalisco. The cartel rose from the remnants of the Milenio Cartel and has become a significant factor in the current crisis, with over 130,000 people reported missing nationwide; Jalisco has the highest count, with at least 16,000 cases. Families continue to uncover mass graves and what they refer to as “extermination sites.”
Raúl Servin, a member of the Guerreros Buscadores collective, which represents over 400 families of the disappeared, shared the emotional toll of their search efforts. “It’s a sadness and helplessness we feel when we see each body these people leave behind,” he stated, recalling the ongoing search for his son since 2018.
In addition to their financial operations, the CJNG is well-equipped with military-grade weapons, including armed drones and rocket-propelled grenades. The cartel’s violent capabilities were recently underscored when more than 25 National Guard members were killed in Jalisco.
In February 2020, then-U.S. President Donald Trump designated the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization. Later that year, U.S. prosecutors indicted Petar Dimitrov Mirchev, a Bulgarian national accused of conspiring to arm the cartels with military-grade weapons.
The CJNG’s paramilitary profile has enabled rapid territorial expansion and market domination. Flores characterized this approach as akin to a military operation, describing the group as “practically uncontestable.”
The cartel mirrors the brutality of Los Zetas, a faction established by former elite Mexican soldiers. Initially referred to as “Matazetas” or Zetas Killers, the CJNG has increasingly adopted violent tactics that challenge the government’s efforts against organized crime.
The ongoing evolution of concealment tactics complicates the search for the missing, according to Servin, who lamented the challenges faced by families. Disappearances have also become a strategic tool for controlling and exploiting territory.
Zepeda noted that the CJNG capitalized on the void left by government crackdowns against competing cartels between 2008 and 2010. The organization emerged as a significant power following the death of influential crime figures, positioning itself to control territory previously held by other cartels.
Looking ahead, Zepeda cautioned that the drug trade remains dynamic, with new groups poised to fill any power vacuums created by the death of Oseguera Cervantes. Flores echoed this sentiment, stressing that dismantling leadership alone will not resolve the underlying issues; the broader networks must also be addressed to prevent further violence. “Without dismantling the power networks, yesterday’s victory will become the cause of new violence tomorrow,” he warned.
