There is no vacuum in life and in the drug business.
With the arrest of El Chapo by US authorities, the Sinaloa cartel is no longer the top cartel in Mexico. That honour belongs to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and its leader is known as El Mencho.
The JNGC might sound like the name of a boy band but this new cartel is nothing to play with. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes aka El Mencho is a 50-year-old drug baron started the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in 2015.
Within five years of existence, the cartel is worth $20b as it sells mostly meth which has bigger profit margins than cocaine. This makes it considerably richer than the Sinaloa cartel. Some of that money has been invested in submarines for drug trafficking by El Mencho.
According to Rolling Stone Magazine, El Mencho moved to America in the 1980s illegally. He was deported after serving three years of a five-year sentence for dealing with heroin.
With El Chapo locked up, the JNGC and the Sinaloa cartel are fighting bitterly over territory. This has tripled the murder rate in Veracruz, Mexico.
El Mencho's thirst for power knows no end. Last year he kidnapped two of El Chapo's son who trespassed into his territory. The Sinaloa cartel had to pay $2m to set them free. The JNGC once raped and killed a 10-year old girl. They ended up burning her corpse. The JNGC operatives mistook the innocent girl for the daughter of a rival.
The Rolling Stone on El Mencho describes him as a ghost even though some of his photos are public. He is wanted by the United States who is offering $5M to anyone who has information that will lead to his arrest and conviction.
It is believed he is presently hiding in the mountains likely in Jalisco or Michoacán.