Cartel leader "El Mencho" killed, sparking Mexico violence: Former DEA official explains situation

Mike, what's happening in Mexico right now?

Well, this morning, the Mexican army located Nemesio Ceguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco Generation Cartel in the municipality of Talpa de Allende. This is where he spends a lot of time and where he hides. So this was one of the most significant actions undertaken in the history of drug trafficking, because we're talking about someone

that is almost at the same level as Chapo Guzman and Elmayo Zambada. He's one of the biggest drug capos in the history of drug trafficking around the globe. And his cartel operated very much like a paramilitary force.

And they operated in about six of the seven continents around the world. But not only were they involved in cocaine, heroin trafficking, but they were also major players in the traffic of synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl methamphetamine. They imported precursor chemicals not only from China, but also from

India through the port of Lhasa, Rokharnadas, and Michoacán, but they also diversified their criminal activities to include the penetration of the avocado industry, the lemon lime industry, the theft of lumber, penetration of the fishing industry, and then they were also involved in the theft of petroleum from Pemex pipelines.

Mike, can you explain to me, clearly this was a Mexican-led operation, but what role did U.S. intelligence have in an operation, or what role does US intelligence have typically in

an operation such as this? Sometimes they provide information. Excuse me. Sometimes we have law enforcement agencies that operate in Mexico, such as DEA, FBI, and others. And in Mexico, we have a huge apparatus of informants that we've been able to cultivate through decades. And sometimes they provide information. That information will now go to the Mexican authorities.

And then they may act on that information. But in this case, I think the vast majority of the intelligence came from Mexico security apparatus. And they did a magnificent job in executing the operation because El Mencho had rings of security, you know, literally an army of security that protected him.

So I think that it was a combination of ground forces and then also supported by air support in the form of helicopters armed with high caliber machine guns, such as 50 caliber machine guns.

The response by the cartel has been violent. Can you talk about what we're seeing in Mexico right now?

Right now we're seeing reprisals on the part of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. They are burning buses, they're shutting down roads, not only in Jalisco, but Michoacan, Colima, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, and then also Aguas Calientes. And what they're trying to do is show that they are still a force to be reckoned with that this was not a lethal blow to them. So that's what they're trying to do is show that they're still in charge.

We've seen that operations at certain airports have been interrupted. Have you heard anything about that or know anything about that?

Yeah, there's some airports that have basically limited operations. Why? Because you'll recall on the second capture of Ovinio Guzman, a cartel went to, for example, to the airport in Culiacán and started shooting at commercial airlines landing at the airport. So they're afraid that they may attack commercial airliners and put people in jeopardy

if they don't shut down the operation. So that's basically what they're doing. The magnitude of this event is worldwide. In reach, you know, let me put it another word. The magnitude of the killing of El Mencho is going to have

worldwide impact because El Mencho was one of the biggest drug wards of all time and definitely much more violent than Chapo Guzman, than Mayo Zambada. So this sends a very strong message that the cartels in Mexico can no longer operate

with impunity and, you know, complete the, you know, you know, and let me say this, that this sends a message to the cartels that they can no longer operate with impunity and violating with, you know, I've been giving so many interviews, my brother,

but let me, this points to the fact and that the Sinaloa cartel, the Jalisco generation cartel, and other powerful cartels that operate in Latin America has, that they can no longer just violate at will the law, the law and order, and that they will be held accountable. And I have to congratulate Mexico, but because this was a very, very effective take down of one of the biggest leaders. And it was done, you know, based on the intelligence that they conducted primarily.

Is there, are we going to see more violence before things calm down?

I think that we'll see a little bit of violence, but here's The big difference is that Mayo Zambada in Chapo Guzman allowed independent actions to be taken by their underlings. El Mencho did not do that. He was very much like a dictator of a country, in this case of a cartel, where he controlled every operational aspect of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. I'm talking about money laundry,

talking about logistics, I'm talking about drug production, I'm talking about every single activity. He was in charge. So whoever comes in behind him is not going to be able to do that.

And clearly, there must have been some sort of informant, is what I'm gathering from what you've said, in order to get to him, to get through all these layers. There had to be somebody with insider knowledge for this operation to be successful.

Well, here's the thing, is that Mexico does a pretty good job, especially the army and the navy, of collecting intelligence. Even though it's illegal, they do conduct extra legal wiretaps.

And then they also have established close ties with a lot of the population, which they didn't have in the past. So now the citizens of Mexico feel more confident in sharing information that they have with the armed forces of Mexico. But yes, it had to be intelligence that was collected, and the Mexican army and others acted on it, you know, with great efficiency. I think that the Trump administration

has been attacking Mexico, saying they're not doing enough. And I think that this action contradicts everything And I think that this action contradicts everything that he said about Mexico.