Decapitating cartels? Mexico leans into ‘kingpin strategy’ but at a cost

Monterrey, Mexico – In July 2024, following the arrest of cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in Texas, activist Maria Isabel Cruz and her colleagues started to notice a troubling trend.

Zambada was the cofounder of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal networks in Mexico. Authorities in the United States applauded his capture as a "di...