EL CHAPO, EL MAYO Y EL MENCHO NO ERAN LOS JEFES | Jesús Tovar # 409

Summary

Journalist Jesús Escobar Tovar argues that Mexico’s drug trade should not be understood as a business controlled solely by famous cartel leaders. In his view, criminal groups and their leaders are operational actors within a wider structure involving political authorities, economic interests, security agencies, and financial institutions. He presents this as his analysis of the system, not as a claim that cartel members are harmless: he stresses that they are responsible for serious violence and should face justice.

• Drug lords as visible, replaceable figures: Escobar Tovar says high-profile bosses such as El Chapo and El Mayo draw attention away from the larger networks that enable trafficking. He argues that arrests or deaths of leaders have rarely stopped the business and have, in some cases, increased violence. He suggests authorities move against particular figures when they are no longer useful or when their removal serves political purposes.

• The role of the state and the United States: The guest characterizes the United States as the world’s central beneficiary of drug trafficking, pointing to its drug consumption, weapons trade, and financial system. He argues that U.S. agencies have shaped the “drug lord” and “cartel” narratives, and questions whether agencies such as the DEA and CIA were unaware of—or complicit in—the actions of Mexican security officials. He also contends that Mexican authorities have helped manage or tolerate criminal structures.

• García Luna and political coordination: Escobar Tovar describes former Mexican security secretary Genaro García Luna as a powerful coordinator of cartel relations, arguing that his authority exceeded that of cartel figures such as El Chapo and El Mayo. He says García Luna’s rise depended on support from political, business, and security interests, and speculates that his eventual arrest may have served U.S. political or institutional needs. These points are presented as the guest’s interpretation and allegations.

• Drug trafficking, money laundering, and resource extraction: The guest argues that trafficking profits depend on formal financial systems—including banks, investment structures, and businesses—rather than simply remaining in cash with cartel leaders. He also links criminal violence to the displacement of communities and access to land and resources, alleging that criminal groups can be used to intimidate people in areas sought by mining, energy, agricultural, or real-estate interests.

• How violence escalated: Escobar Tovar traces increased brutality to the involvement of police, former soldiers, and militarized groups, particularly the Zetas, and says other groups adopted similar methods. He argues that violence has become more deliberately terrorizing and that young people, including minors and migrants, are recruited through coercion or deception. Those at the bottom, he says, are often disposable and poorly paid, while the greatest profits accrue to powerful intermediaries.

• Cartels, culture, and recruitment: He warns that some narcocorridos and crime dramas can make criminal life appear glamorous, successful, or heroic, helping attract a portion of young audiences. He distinguishes between music that documents or criticizes violence and material that celebrates criminal leaders. His concern is not simply censorship, but the normalization and glorification of violence.

• The future of organized crime: Escobar Tovar says criminal organizations change and fragment rather than disappear. He views the Sinaloa Cartel as weakened and divided between the Chapitos and the Mayos, while expecting other groups to remain or gain prominence. He argues that drug trafficking will persist unless the broader economic and political structures supporting it change. He favors legalizing drugs as one possible way to reduce the business’s violence, while emphasizing that legalization alone would not address poverty, recruitment, or financial power.

Presenters and Contributors

• Presenter: Gusgri, host of the Gusgri Podcast
• Guest: Jesús Escobar Tovar, journalist and commentator on politics, economics, and security