The United States has poured a veritable war chest into combating the sale and abuse of drugs over the past several decades. But in 2026, more than half a century after President Richard Nixon first declared his “War on Drugs,” powerful traffickers continue to unleash violence across the border, and illicit narcotics are more available than ever.
On Sunday, authorities in Mexico announced the death of the country’s most wanted cartel leader following a government operation to capture him. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which in recent years grew into one of the largest traffickers of fentanyl and other drugs to the U.S. The Trump administration provided Mexico intelligence for the operation, the White House later confirmed.
Violence quickly erupted as the cartel retaliated, first in cities across Jalisco state and then nationwide. The violent scenes were a reminder of the intractability of North America’s drug trafficking problem, despite the mountains of resources that have been dedicated to resolving it. Successive administrations have spent massive amounts on policing, interdiction, and foreign counternarcotics campaigns, but demand for drugs in the U.S. has stayed resilient, and in some cases, appears to be climbing.
