President Donald Trump had put Mexico on notice: Go after the country’s powerful drug lords, or he would.
His long-demanded crackdown arrived when the country’s most wanted narco-kingpin died after a shootout with the Mexican military.
But the unrest that erupted after the attempt to capture Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes turned bloody carried a warning.
Trump’s zest for violent enforcement could sow turmoil far worse than the weekend’s gangland backlash that left Americans stranded in tourist hotspots and buses and businesses burning.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s move against the leader of the hugely powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which was aided by US intelligence, represented a hard policy turn following a year of intense pressure from Trump.
But the US president is already demanding more. He responded to the assault by writing on social media, “Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!”
El Mencho’s demise might ease a little US heat on Sheinbaum. But a more permanent cartel crackdown would create new dilemmas and political risks. Widespread, prolonged violence could turn voters against the president and hurt the economy or disrupt Mexico
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