World Cup matches in jeopardy after US coordinated hit on Mexican cartel boss

The operation to detain El Mencho resembles the largely unsuccessful “kingpin strategy” used in Mexico from 2008-2013 under Felipe Calderón, the former Mexican president. Mr Glantz said: “It tore the country to pieces. When they started removing kingpins in a deliberate strategy to remove the leaders, that’s when chaos ensued.” “We looked at massive increases in violence and contestation between groups along key trafficking routes. So not only was the violence externalised towards civilians and the state, but it was also turned inwards. This was not an apt operation designed to reduce the amount of drugs coming into the US. “I suspect the US gave everything the Mexicans could possibly need to get El Mencho, which probably would have put Mexico in a sticky situation if they hadn’t acted on it. I think we’re going to see a continued intensification of Mexican operations targeting cartels.”