, Columnist
Sheinbaum Kills a Drug Lord and Crosses Her Rubicon
Après ‘el Mencho,’ the lead deluge.
Photographer: Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images
Murders, torched cars and highway blockades. Bank branches set ablaze on otherwise empty streets. Tourists stranded in resorts in Puerto Vallarta. Classes suspended in at least 13 states.
The killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. “El Mencho,” by Mexico’s armed forces on Sunday unleashed a wave of violence across the country. Every time a major cartel loses its boss, the spasm of revenge against the government is followed by bloody internal struggles as major players and their factions move to fill the vacuum.