Jack Nicas

I'm sitting in your old office, Natalie.

Well, El Mencho was arguably the single biggest criminal in the world.

He was arguably the most wanted man in the world.

He led the biggest cartel in Mexico.

He led the biggest cartel perhaps in the world.

And I know we tend to avoid using superlatives, but it's hard to overstate the importance and significance of this figure in the criminal world.

And it's a really big deal that the Mexican government went after him because he had been on the run for two decades.

He has ties to government figures around the Mexican government.

And this is four months just before the World Cup arrives, just a few hours from where he was found.

And this is a major move that could open a new chapter of violence in Mexico.

I think one visual way to see the different approach of the Jalisco Cartel is the map of Mexico, particularly when it's overlaid with the different cartels' control.

And what you see is the Jalisco Cartel really has presence across the country, and it really has conquered almost every state it has presence in.

And there is widespread corruption within the states and local governments across their region to make sure that Jalisco can do what it wants without any questions.

It gives them resources.

It's natural for us to make the analogy that these guys are a Fortune 500 company with a diverse set of businesses, no question.

They are also, in a way—

a state actor.

They have their tentacles in the state governments and in the local governments across the country, and that allows them to really operate unbridled.

And it even means that when a hurricane hits, sometimes the Jalisco cartel are the ones providing aid because they want to generate some goodwill with constituents.

So I think it's really difficult to