Mexicans living in Ireland are not hopeful that the killing of a powerful drug lord by Mexican security forces on Sunday will help curb the power of the cartels in the country.
Nemesio Oseguera, who was known as “El Mencho”, died in custody after being injured during the military operation for his capture. Oseguera was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels.
José (33), who moved from Guadalajara to Cork city in 2017, said he believed Mexico’s government was “pushed to offer El Mencho to the US administration to help Donald Trump’s campaign”.
“With this killing he is able to say that he is stopping fentanyl from entering the USA. But realistically the problem is for Mexico because Mexico is losing everything,” said José, who asked that his surname not be used.
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The killing set off waves of violence in parts of Mexico as members of the CJNG cartel carried out acts of retaliation – including blockading roads and setting fire to vehicles. Oseguera’s cartel CJNG was named after the central-western state of Jalisco, which is home to Mexico’s second biggest city, Guadalajara.
José is concerned that the violence will be used as an excuse to change the location of World Cup games from Guadalajara, one of the cities hosting the football tournament which takes place in Mexico, Canada and the US this summer.
José said violence is a facet of everyday life in Mexico.
“I have known what to do if you are driving and being followed by another car since I was 15 years old,” he said. “You look for a roundabout and go in circles to see if the car is following you or not. I used to use different routes to go home every day just in case someone was following me.”
Ana Garmilla (33), who moved from Puebla, a city in central Mexico, to Dublin in 2020, said violence is a deeply rooted in Mexican society.
“History shows us that when a cartel leader falls, somebody else takes their place,” Garmilla said. “The issue of the cartels must be addressed at its roots.”
She suspects the military operation against Oseguera resulted from pressure from the US due to the upcoming World Cup, given that one of the matches will be played in Jalisco, and because of drugs entering the US from there.
Sahira Daldez (35), who moved from the city of Monterrey in northern Mexico to Dublin in 2020, said she was concerned Oseguera’s killing would bring more violence and potentially empower some of the cartels.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like a civil war because right now it’s just the cartel against the government,” Daldez said.
She thinks Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum is performing well in combating the cartels, but needs to do more.
Angel Morelos Ortiz-Castillo (27) moved to Ireland in 2021 from Tacámbaro – a city in Michoacán, a state that neighbours Jalisco. He said intimidation by cartel members was commonplace in his hometown.
“They killed the mayor of my town because he would not co-operate with the cartels,” Ortiz-Castillo said of the assassination of Tacámbaro mayor Salvador Bastida García last June.
Ortiz-Castillo believes Oseguera’s killing might bring about change.
“Mexico is going to be independent from the drugs soon. But in order for that to happen the country must be on fire,” he said.
