The "Menchazo" Leaves More Than 60 Dead
Jalisco Cartel attacks following Mencho death take narco blockades to unprecedented level
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In Tamaulipas state, cartel operatives highjacked buses, stuck them across highways and set them on fire shutting down the key border city of Reynosa. In Michoacán, police and soldiers were called to similar scenes across much of the state and were attacked by gunmen, injuring 15 officers and troops. In Guanajuato, thugs burned down 74 cars, trucks, grocery stores and pharmacies. And in Jalisco itself, where the drug lord El Mencho was located, cartel operatives killed 25 National Guard soldiers - in one of the worst losses for the Mexican army since the revolutionary and religious wars of the early twentieth century.
While cartels have employed so-called “narco blockades” for two decades, the attacks on Sunday, which we could call “El Menchazo,” were on an unprecedented scale in terms of the number of incidents, geographical spread and, tragically, the death toll. The Mexican government released a statement counting 252 incidents across 20 of Mexico’s 32 states, and gave details of more than 60 deaths including soldiers and cartel hitmen.
The attacks shut down much of the country, forcing the cancellation of flights, school classes and buses. And they have left many Mexicans in shock about the reach of cartels. Even the defense secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo held back tears in the presidential press conference on Monday as he announced the death of soldiers.
“We offer condolences to the families of our compañeros who lost their lives,” Trevilla said, bowing his head and shaking.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, unleashed the violence in response to the Mexican army killing its supreme leader El Mencho, or Nemesio Oseguera. The 59 year old narco lord was located with the help of U.S. intelligence in following his girlfriend…
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