Latin American Drug Trafficking

Power vacuum after El Mencho's death – "It's volatile"

Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation smuggled cocaine through a secret tunnel between the US and Mexico. Four people have been arrested, a blow to the cartel that is in a power vacuum after the death of El Mencho's leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, in February. This is reported by several media outlets.

El Mencho was killed by Mexican special forces. For years, he had been the most wanted criminal in both the US and Mexico.

In recent years, the Jalisco cartel has expanded greatly at the expense of the Sinaloa cartel, among others.

The organization is threatened by rival cartels while internal settlements are expected among El Mencho's four competing underbosses.

- We don't know what will happen. The situation is very volatile, says Canadian journalist Jean-Michel Leprince to France24.

The store had no customers – but a secret tunnel to Mexico

Members of the Mexican cartel Jalisco New Generation have used a fake store in San Diego as a front for a sophisticated tunnel that led across the border into the Mexican region of Tijuana. The San Diego Union-Tribune and The Guardian report.

Four people have been charged and face life in prison.

US Customs agents kept the store under surveillance for several weeks and discovered activities “that did not appear to be consistent with normal retail operations”. For example, it never appeared to be visited by customers.

More than a ton of cocaine was seized in connection with the arrests.