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What Next - Mexico’s Cartel War

Slate News

Slate Podcasts

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.56K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With President Trump’s urging and support from CIA drones, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s more confrontational approach to the drug cartels culminated in the death of “El Mencho,” the most wanted man in both Mexico and the United States. 


Guest: León Krauze, Mexican journalist and author covering politics and the cartels. 


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey there, it's Mary. Before we get started, if you are listening on Spotify, I have a quick

0:05.8

favor to ask. Give our show a follow if you haven't already. You do that by clicking on the

0:12.3

show name. That's what next daily news and analysis. And tapping the follow button,

0:17.4

you'll see you right at the top of our episode list. When you become a follower,

0:21.3

we can get you the good stuff every morning, no matter what. Okay, on to the show.

0:31.6

The leader of Mexico's Halisco New Generation Cartel has had a lot of names. His formal name was Nemecio Ruben Osegera

0:41.2

Servantes. This often got shortened to simply Nemesio Ace Gera. But a lot of people knew him by his

0:48.3

nickname, El Mancho. El Mentiono was killed on Sunday.

0:58.0

Were you surprised when you learned that Almencha was dead?

0:59.5

No, not really.

1:05.6

Journalist Leon Krausa has followed the cartel leader's rise for years.

1:24.5

Well, all of these people that join this business, let's call it a business, know that they are in it for likely exhilarating, if that sort of thing excites you, but very short ride, right?

1:32.9

Only very, very few had managed to escape the long arm of the law for a long time.

1:41.4

To be fair, Almencho's ride was longer than most, decades.

1:46.1

Leon says inside Mexico, it made him a kind of mythical figure.

1:54.0

He really was. The members of this cartel called themselves Los Homes del Senor Mencho,

2:02.0

the menchus men. They worked for him, worshipped him, venerated him.

2:07.8

He was a cohesive figure in this gigantic organization,

2:10.0

the Cartel Halisco, New Generation. And through his leadership, ruthless leadership,

2:14.9

the cartel became probably Mexico's most important and menacing and successful criminal

2:26.3

organization ever.

2:28.0

I mean, Mexico's top security officials said, Halisco New Generation was the principal

...

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