Drug cartels in Mexico are unleashing violent retribution after the government killed a notorious cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera, known as El Mencho. The cartels caused violent havoc across Mexico on Sunday after the loss of one of their leaders. Schools across Mexico are shuttered today and most businesses are closed. El Mencho was a powerful drug lord and the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación. But inside parts of Mexico, his reputation was more layered than the American narrative. In many communities, he functioned as a parallel authority, enforcing order, creating employment pipelines, and during COVID lockdowns, distributing aid when the state failed to show up. The Mexican military launched the operation to eliminate him Sunday, reportedly with U.S. intelligence support. Likely more than support. For years, Washington has armed, trained, and funded Mexican security forces under counter-narcotics partnerships, while American drug demand and U.S.-origin weapons fuel the cartel ecosystem itself. American policy is woven into both sides of this conflict, and now the destabilization phase is unfolding in real time. There are circulating reports that cartel elements are considering retaliation beyond Mexico’s borders. If violence were to extend into the United States, the political consequences would be immediate and profound. Is that the point? Is this the excuse the U.S. has been looking for to launch a military operation in Mexico? The post Cartel Retaliation After El Mencho Killing appeared first on Redacted.