As Donald Trump settles back into the White House for his second term, a most wanted Mexican drug lord has called an ’emergency meeting’ to prepare to confront the President.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho’, leader and founder of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) is said to be “preparing” the cartel to face up to Trump. It comes as Trump brought in an executive order designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.
Mexican cartels are said to be preparing themselves with powerful weapons and new plans in a bid to continue their illicit operations under the new mandate. The CJNG reportedly took actions in anticipation of Trump’s White house return, buying high-caliber weapons, specifically including RPG missile launchers.
Anabel Hernández, journalist and podcaster, revealed that El Mencho has a plan to confront the designation of drug cartels as terrorist organisations. Speaking on her podcast Narcosistema, she said: “After Trump announced his war against the Mexican cartels, today, it is the organisation that is preparing itself the fastest with powerful weapons to fight.”
The journalist added that in the coming days El Mencho will call a special meeting with his bosses in the area to instruct them on how to prepare for a possible attack by US law enforcement. She added: “Although the leader of the CJNG claims to have arrangements with the Government of Mexico, he does not rule out that there may be covert operations by the Trump administration.”
El Mencho and his cartel have spent “a little over a month” acquiring RPG missile launchers, reportedly paying at least $60,000 (£48,000) for each one. The weapons have the “capacity to shoot down armoured vehicles and artillery and even airplanes”, she added.
The cartel leader, who has a $15 million (£12 million) bounty on his head, has also ordered bunkers to be built between Jalisco and Colima for emergencies as he grows concerned for his safety. The bunkers are said to be made with high technology so people can hide and avoid air attacks, the journalist added.
He has also ordered airports and cities to be kept under “surveillance to detect suspicious Americans”, as well as for “surveillance in US consulates”. When it comes to their drug operations, Ms Hernández said the cartel leader plans to continue shipping drugs into the US, though at a lower price in a bid to increase consumption and profits through volume increase.
The US State Department announced an increase in the reward for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction on December 4. The US warned he has been accused of drug trafficking several times since 2017. Ms Hernández added: “There is a criminal case open against him in the District Court of Columbia, for which an arrest warrant and extradition to the United States has already been issued.”
Trump’s executive order highlighted Mexican drug cartels along with Latin American criminal groups such as Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). The order claims the groups “threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”
The order did not list any Mexican cartels by name, but said Cabinet secretaries would recommend groups to be designated as terrorist organisations within two weeks. The order reads: “The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilised countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.”
