Today’s Discovery
Today I watched a very shocking video.
It was about Mexico.
Right now, Mexico is in a very dangerous situation.
It looks like a civil war inside the country.
The leader of the biggest drug cartel was arrested and killed.
After that, the system that kept things stable broke down.
People are worried that Mexico will become like Iraq.
The cartels in Mexico have drones, rocket launchers, tanks, and armored cars.
They are not just criminals.
They are like a private military company.
The Most Important News: “El Mencho” Was Killed
On February 22, 2026, Mexico’s special army forces went to the mountains of Jalisco State.
They found and killed the top leader of the “Jalisco New Generation Cartel” — CJNG.
His name is Nemesio Segura Cervantes. People call him “El Mencho.”
The United States put a reward of 15 million dollars on his head.
That is about 2.3 billion yen.
Even the famous drug lord “El Chapo” only had a 5 million dollar reward.
El Mencho was that dangerous.
Why was he so dangerous?
His cartel controlled the supply of “fentanyl” — a very strong synthetic drug.
Fentanyl is now a serious social problem in America.
So the US government saw El Mencho as a big national security threat.
Who Was El Mencho?
El Mencho was born in a poor farming village.
When he was a teenager, he worked as a guard at a marijuana farm.
Later, he went to the US as an illegal immigrant.
After he was arrested and sent back to Mexico, he joined the police for a short time.
Then he entered a drug organization.
Through marriage and personal connections, he became very powerful.
His cartel — CJNG — grew very fast.
In just 15 years, it spread to 27 of Mexico’s 32 states.
It also has a distribution network in all 50 states of America.
The number of members is between 15,000 and 20,000 people.
The money is also unbelievable.
From cocaine, meth, fuel theft, fraud, and human trafficking —
the total net worth of CJNG is between 20 billion and 50 billion dollars.
That is as big as the GDP of a medium-sized country.
Why Is CJNG Different From Other Cartels?
I learned that CJNG is very different from old-style cartels.
There are three big reasons.
Reason 1: Full Control of the Supply Chain
They control everything — from getting raw materials, to making drugs, to delivering them in America.
They do not need outside help.
Reason 2: Many Types of Business
They do not only sell drugs.
They also steal fuel, run illegal mines, and do timeshare fraud targeting Americans.
This is like a “crime portfolio” — they spread their risk like a real business.
Reason 3: Military Power
They have 50-caliber heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles, and bomb drones.
They even use mercenaries from Colombia.
In 2015, they shot down a military helicopter. That was shocking.
Why Did Mexico Finally Move?
The US put strong pressure on Mexico.
The Trump administration said: “If you do not cooperate, we will put 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico.”
Mexico exports a lot to the US, so they could not say no.
The operation was called “Operation Tanarupa.”
The army and police went in. El Mencho was captured and died while being transported.
But — this opened a “Pandora’s Box.”
What Happened After?
Right after El Mencho died, the cartel started to fight back across the whole country.
- Road blocks in 250+ places across 20 states
- Banks and convenience stores were set on fire
- Flights were cancelled at airports
The FIFA World Cup is only 4 months away.
Mexico is in serious chaos right now.
Now there is a big question:
Will the cartel break into smaller pieces and fight each other?
That is what happened in Iraq after Saddam Hussein’s government fell.
Then ISIS grew from that chaos.
People are afraid the same thing will happen in Mexico.
My Big Takeaway
Even if the top leader is gone, the system does not die.
Why? Because America still has huge demand for drugs.
And Mexico still has deep poverty.
Fentanyl is cheap. Many Americans use it because life is hard for them.
The gap between rich and poor is growing.
Until that changes, the supply and demand network will survive.
This is the end of one era.
But the big problem remains.
What I Felt After Watching
This video made me think very deeply.
Crime organizations now work like real global businesses.
They have supply chains, portfolios, and military power.
Just removing one leader is not enough.
Real change needs to fix the root cause — poverty and drug demand.
I want to keep learning about world events like this.
The world is more connected and more complicated than I thought.