The Mexican army killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes on Sunday, and unless you follow the murky world of international drug trafficking, that name probably means nothing to you. His nickname might ring a bell though. El Mencho. The head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful and violent criminal organisations on the planet.
He was wounded during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco and died while being flown to Mexico City. Four others were killed at the scene. Roadblocks with burning vehicles erupted across multiple Mexican states within hours. Air Canada suspended flights to Puerto Vallarta.
What does this have to do with Scotland? More than most people realise. The CJNG is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the global market. That cocaine does not stop at the American border. It finds its way into every port and every city in Europe, including ours. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee: the white powder that fuels Scotland’s drug crisis starts its journey in places like Jalisco.
The US had a 15 million dollar bounty on El Mencho’s head. The Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation just weeks ago. And history tells us that when you take out a cartel leader, the violence does not stop. It fractures and multiplies.
The bigger concern for Scotland is whether the power vacuum left by El Mencho’s death disrupts or accelerates the supply chains that feed our own drug problem. We lose more people to drugs per capita than almost anywhere in Europe. The thread connecting a military operation in Jalisco to a street corner in the east end of Glasgow is longer than most people think, but it is unbroken.