Will Mexico's Jalisco cartel's violent biz model survive El Mencho's death?

"Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, consolidated one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organisations in part due to a unique franchise-based structure. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the CJNG maintains a presence in every state of Mexico, with varying levels of influence, and operates in more than 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, and throughout the US."

"Rather than following a classic organisational pyramid, the CJNG avoids a centralised financial network. Instead, profits can be distributed across many locations and groups simultaneously. The widespread unrest demonstrated the CJNG's capacity for rapid coordination, fuelled by a franchise' model that allows smaller cells to operate under the cartel's brand and vast financial network."

"This structure relies on extortion, brutal violence and forced disappearances as its main tools to seize territory and control markets. While the group's economic reach extends into Europe and Asia, its power remains rooted in its paramilitary force."

El Mencho led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to become one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations through an innovative franchise-based structure. This model allows smaller cells to operate under the cartel's brand while maintaining operational independence. The CJNG maintains presence in every Mexican state and operates in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The organization primarily traffics cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Unlike traditional hierarchical cartels, the CJNG avoids centralized financial networks, distributing profits across multiple locations simultaneously. This decentralized approach enables rapid coordination, as demonstrated when cartel members coordinated blockades across 20 states following El Mencho's death in February. The cartel's power relies on extortion, brutal violence, and forced disappearances to control territory and markets.

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