Sheinbaum’s Hybrid Strategy Faces the Real Test Against Mexico’s Cartels
Claudia Sheinbaum’s approach blends heavy military pressure with expanded intelligence, investigations, and anti-corruption efforts to undermine cartels’ political and financial bases, aiming for lasting gains beyond high-profile arrests like El Mencho. While large troop deployments and seizures show capacity and have reduced violence in some areas, persistent violence in rural zones and questions about data reliability and state corruption highlight that military wins alone won’t suffice. The real test is dismantling criminal networks’ political and economic ties, improving prosecutions, and maintaining Washington cooperation without provoking sovereignty clashes—and doing so ahead of elections to turn tactical successes into durable security gains.
