Politics: Heightened security and diplomatic challenges face Mexico following the US capture of drug kingpins
Though much remains uncertain as to just how US officials supposedly had the good fortunate to have two major Mexican cartel figures fall into their hands at a private airport near El Paso, Texas, there can be little doubt that this turn of events has major implications for bilateral relations, domestic politics and government policy on both sides of the border. And with both Sinaloa Cartel founder and mastermind “Mayo” Zambada, as well as one of Chapo Guzman´s sons fighting him for control of the business now out of the picture, we are likely to witness an intensification of turf wars with the potential to reshape the criminal landscape in Mexico.
President López Obrador and his security minister say they were never notified by the US of such an operation, while Washington has insisted it had nothing to do with it either, until someone notified them a flight was on its way. But the entire affair raises the specter of unilateral US interventions on Mexican soil, a prospect that the Republican presidential nominee has made a focus of his campaign.
Virtual President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum already faced the need to design an effective security policy, but is now confronted on two fronts: the Mexican public’s clamor to successfully address all facets of insecurity (homicides, disappearances, extortion, robberies, violence against women, etc.) and what appears to be a warning from Washington either to seriously take the fight to cartels that produce and export fentanyl or face unilateral intervention, presumably no matter who is president come next January.
This week we analyze how the events of July 25 could translate into an intensification of criminal violence in specific regions of Mexico and shape the policies of the incoming administration, as well as their potential ramifications for bilateral relations.
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