President Claudia Sheinbaum broke the news with that tone of someone who knows they have an ace up their sleeve: the arrest of Audias “N”, alias ‘El Jardinero’, and César Alejandro “N”, ‘El Güero Conta’. He presents them as large pieces of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). And he describes them, without hesitation, as “very, very relevant.”
What is behind the official optimism? The president assures that this is not a coincidence, but rather the result of fine coordination between the Sedena, the Navy and the intelligence areas. He says that there is a “permanent articulation”—words that sound good in the headlines, but that here we always review with a magnifying glass.
“It’s not just that an organized crime figure is arrested… but what this person represented in terms of extortion, robbery and drug trafficking,” Sheinbaum released, trying to connect the hit with people’s pockets and fear.
Be careful: the president promises that the Security Cabinet will give all the details in a conference. Promise transparency. But we already know how those stories end when the spotlight goes off.
And in the midst of the national celebration, Sheinbaum also winked at Washington: yes, there is international cooperation, but with clear limits. “There may be information provided by some institution of the United States government… but not a ground operation with elements of any agency,” he stated. Sovereignty first, although the drug trafficker does not understand borders.
