Jack Nicas

But it also appears that there was important information coming from the CIA.

There was no American boots on the ground.

This was a Mexican law enforcement operation.

But some of the intelligence that fed it came from the United States.

This was really a day of mayhem.

And it was one of the biggest shows of force and violence by a cartel in recent Mexican history.

And it actually showed the breadth of the organization that El Mencho had built because it wasn't just in Jalisco, but it was from coast to coast in at least 20 states across the nation.

There was, you know, cars on fire, blocked roads, banks on fire, supermarkets on fire.

And they also shootings, you know, there was at least 25 members of the National Guard who were killed as part of some of this mayhem on Sunday.

And that was, I think, an explosion of of rage and also power from this Jalisco cartel.

But it also was a short burst of violence, you know.

After Sunday, things really have calmed down.

And, you know, by midweek, the Mexican government says, you know, all roads are clear, all the fires are put out, and there really are no shelter in place orders to speak of.

And so Mexico is kind of back to normal.

That's exactly the question, because while things are back to normal, the country is still very much on edge because Trump is still pressuring the Mexican government to do more.

And you just suddenly have a beheaded cartel that may now be fighting for territory and power.

For one, the Mexican authorities had a piece of very actionable intelligence, and so an opportunity was created and they took advantage of it.

But this also comes amid the backdrop of a very aggressive offensive against the cartels by President Sheinbaum.

She basically has made clear that she wants to take a very different tact from her predecessor to go after the cartels.

And then there also is...