El Mencho: A Convenient Corpse in a Perpetual War
Strip away the framing and you are left with this: another drug lord, conveniently gone, another opportunity to declare a minor victory in a drug war that has been an abject failure for decades. The purported death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the alleged leader of CJNG, is being peddled as a significant blow to the cartel. This simplistic reading overlooks the
structural realities that allow such organizations to thrive and regenerate, particularly the vast sums of drug money laundered through major US banks, an estimated $2 trillion globally each year, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. This isn't a new playbook. For generations, the US has focused on decapitation strikes against cartel leadership while largely ignoring the underlying
economic disparities, corruption, and insatiable demand for drugs in its own borders that fuel the trade. It is a cynical strategy. The so-called 'drug war' has consistently served as a pretext for interventions and security cooperation that often bolster authoritarian tendencies in Latin American states, all while failing to address the core problem. The 1989 invasion of Panama, dubbed 'Operation
Just Cause,' ostensibly targeted General Manuel Noriega for drug trafficking. Yet, his removal did little to stem the flow of drugs, instead installing a more compliant government that facilitated US corporate interests. This ritualistic focus on individual kingpins conveniently sidesteps uncomfortable questions about the systemic failures and double standards inherent in US approaches to regional