US-Backed Cartel Hits: Business as Usual in Mexico's Illicit Economies
Operation 'El Mencho' unfolds with familiar pomp and circumstance, painting a narrative of relentless pursuit against evil. The focus is on a single, irredeemable target: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Yet, what mainstream reports conveniently sidestep is how the US-led war on drugs perpetually grooms and eliminates individual cartel heads, while
the fundamental structures enabling the drug trade remain untouched, often fortified by US financial institutions that launder billions annually. Just last year, reports indicated that an estimated $25 billion in drug profits were laundered through US banks. This isn't about eradicating the drug trade; it's about controlling its top tier operators, ensuring a constant, albeit managed, instability
that benefits specific interests. Consider Operation Condor, a 1970s US-backed campaign in Mexico that paradoxically consolidated power for larger cartels by eliminating smaller poppy producers. This pattern repeats: dislodge one kingpin, and a vacuum is created, leading to new, often more brutal, contenders, all while the demand in the US stays robust. The actual 'war' is a revolving door of
designated villains, maintaining a steady supply chain and a ready pretext for intervention. The hypocrisy is stunning. While Treasury Department sanctions target individual Mexican cartel figures, Wall Street banks historically pay minimal fines for facilitating transactions that dwarf the assets of these kingpins. In 2012, HSBC paid a mere $1.9 billion fine for laundering an estimated $881