U.S. raids unlikely to crack Mexican capo’s drug empire – By Drazen Jorgic, Mark Hosenball (Reuters) / March 22 2020
MEXICO CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A major bust by U.S. drug authorities targeting Mexico’s fastest-growing gang will likely do little to stem the rise of the ultra-violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and its shadowy leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias ‘El Mencho’.
Over the past decade, Oseguera, a 53-year-old former policeman, has masterminded the CJNG’s emergence as a criminal empire spanning five continents and a rival to the Sinaloa Cartel of captured kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, now in a U.S. prison.
From the swathes of Mexico’s western Jalisco state that he controls, Oseguera is accused of flooding U.S. streets with synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, that cause tens of thousands of deaths every year.
El Mencho’s success has made him a prized target, with U.S. authorities placing a $10 million bounty on his head in 2018.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stepped up the fight last week with its largest swoop against the CJNG on U.S. soil, arresting more than 600 people accused of being linked to its sprawling criminal network.
Continue to article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-crime-jalisco-analysis/u-s-raids-unlikely-to-crack-mexican-capos-drug-empire-idUSKBN2190FE?il=0
