Natalie Kitroeff

It becomes incredibly powerful, right, and rich.

So that gives them resources to do this kind of work.

Okay, given what you've both laid out about the steady and menacing rise of this group and their power across Mexico, I think a lot of people are going to be wondering at this point, what was the government doing this whole time that this was happening?

Were they going after the Jalisco cartel in El Mencho?

What was their response?

So it's both difficult for the Mexican government to fend off the pull of this multibillion-dollar corporation, which is the Jalisco cartel, and at the same time, there's been a hesitance or reluctance to go at them head-on because it means going up against a whole system that perpetuates their power.

And it's what makes it even more shocking that the Mexican government was able to go up against El Mencho this time and actually get him.

So, Jack, walk me through how that operation went down.

And Jack, what do we know about the intelligence that led the operation to be successful in this case?

Amazing.

They got him by following his girlfriend.

Got it.

And once El Mencho's death is confirmed, we saw the country erupt in flames as the cartel is responding on the streets.

Cartel members loyal to El Mencho, we understand, were lighting things on fire, blocking roads.

We heard of American tourists kind of sheltering in place in their hotels.

Just describe what we were seeing in Mexico.

Massive plumes of smoke darkened the skies of seaside resort towns and tourist hotspots.

But locals are the most threatened.

Right.

And now the question seems to be, what happens next?