The Mexican State and the Narcos

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In early August 2020, the Mexican government’s struggles with and infiltration by drug cartels and violent criminal organizations were highlighted by a series of dramatic events. On August 2, 2020, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, aka “El Marro” (“the Sledgehammer”) was captured in Guanajuato. Also, new evidence emerged about narco influence during the administration of former President Felipe Calderón—in particular, cash payments to some of his former ministers that caused President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to argue that Mexico was a “narco-state” under Calderón and his successor (and López Obrador’s predecessor) President Enrique Peña Nieto. AMLO said that in the past he thought the term was overblown, but based on new evidence released by the United States, the president now thinks it fits. As violent criminal organizations continue to threaten both Mexico’s state and civil society, pundits offered their thoughts.

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