Chapo, Mayo, Mencho: another Mexican kingpin falls
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 February 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The targeting of “El Mencho”, the leader of one of the country’s two biggest gangs, has resulted in a predictable spate of violence—more of which is virtually assured. We take a rare look inside Russia to see how four years of war has changed the country. And some surprising advice on how to get your best marathon time.
Guests and host:
- Sarah Birke, Mexico City bureau chief
- Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia editor
- Tim Cross, senior science writer
- Ainslie Johnstone, data journalist
- Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”
Topics covered:
- Mexico, cartels, gang violence
- Russia, economy, Ukraine war
- Running, training, marathons
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:07.0 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:15.0 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:28.6 | After a look yesterday at the impact of four years of war on Ukraine, today we get a rare look inside Russia. |
| 0:33.6 | And we have some surprising advice for runners. |
| 0:39.8 | You might think that if you had a good marathon time, |
| 0:42.7 | the simple aim is to get faster and faster when training. |
| 0:46.8 | We dig into piles of data to find a more nuanced plan. We're going to find a more nuanced plan. First up, though. |
| 1:02.7 | Thank you, though. A Mexican journalist can't even get the question out before President Claudia |
| 1:16.1 | Shanebaum cuts in with the answer. |
| 1:17.9 | What guarantees are for that the world's |
| 1:21.4 | in this city? |
| 1:22.4 | All the guarantees. |
| 1:24.9 | What guarantees are there that the World Cup will happen at this venue? |
| 1:30.9 | All of them, all the guarantees, she replies. |
| 1:34.3 | It's a fair question. |
| 1:36.1 | On Sunday, a notorious drug lord named Nemesio Ruben Oseguera-Servantes |
| 1:40.2 | and known simply as El Mens, was captured and mortally wounded. |
| 1:45.1 | In scenes that Mexico has seen before, that sparked grotesque violence on the streets. |
| 1:52.6 | Not the kind of press that one of the World Cup host countries wants right about now, |
| 1:57.4 | and Miss Schenbaum wants to calm nerves. |
| 2:00.4 | But even though things seem to have quietened down for the moment, experience suggests |
... |
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