A Mexican dilemma

The killing of a cartel boss shows President Sheinbaum has opted to confront the drug gangs head-on.

Read in browser

Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven't yet, sign up here. As news broke of the killing of notorious drug lord "El Mencho," Mexican and US authorities rushed to thank each other for their support in pulling off the biggest security coup of President Claudia Sheinbaum's term. In addition to a major departure from the strategy of her predecessor and mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the operation showcased a level of information-sharing not seen since at least 2008. That's when then-President Felipe Calderón signed the so-called Merida Initiative on US security cooperation to fight drug trafficking. Sheinbaum and her supporters regularly revile Calderón, yet in reality she's now opted to confront organized crime head-on, pressured by Washington to obtain quick results — and a domestic public that sees security as the top concern. Mexico has understood its relationship with President Donald Trump as "trophy diplomacy," extraditing nearly 130 cartel members to US prisons since January 2025. Ryan Wedding, a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder on the FBI's most-wanted list, was detained in Mexico last month after several years at large. US military personnel have been granted entry to conduct training and exercises on several occasions this past year. Sheinbaum at her daily news conference in Mexico City last month. Photographer: Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images Sheinbaum's government says it's a strategy that's been in place since she took office almost 18 months back, including addressing the root causes of drug crime, strengthening the national guard and bolstering intelligence. If so, Sunday's dramatic shoot-out is the most visible evidence to date. It's also controversial. Several members of her party reject the idea of open combat with the cartels. As recently as November, Sheinbaum branded the war on drugs "outside the law," and amounting to a license to kill. The risk is she ends up satisfying neither her electorate nor the tariff-wielding US president. Mere hours after the weekend operation, Trump called on the Mexican government to do more to combat organized crime. — Gonzalo Soto WATCH: Violent clashes erupted in Mexico after the killing of cartel boss "El Mencho." Global Must Reads Trump offered a strident defense of his record at perhaps the lowest moment of his second term, declaring the US is "bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before" in a State of the Union address that contained few new policy announcements. Four days after deriding the Supreme Court justices who struck down most of his signature tariffs, he was far milder in his criticism with some of them in the room. It was also the first time in two decades a president didn't directly mention China in the annual speech to Congress. Check out the key takeaways here. WATCH: Rosalind Mathieson discusses Trump's speech on Bloomberg TV. Iran is pursuing "sinister ambitions" to reconstitute its nuclear program, Trump said, adding to speculation that he's preparing for fresh military strikes in the coming days, even as he failed to articulate what he actually wants from Tehran in ongoing negotiations. NATO's AWACS air surveillance planes in Turkey have shifted focus from Russia to Iran as the risk of a US-led armed campaign mounts, sources say. Ukraine's envoy to Washington said the Trump administration protested its attack on a pipeline terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast that disrupted crude flows from US energy majors in Kazakhstan. On the four-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion yesterday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised the bloc will deliver on its €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine "one way or another," after Hungary moved to block the financial lifeline over an energy dispute with Kyiv. The US Department of Justice appears to have illegally withheld a claim that Trump sexually abused a minor from disclosure files on Jeffrey Epstein, according to a top Democratic lawmaker. Separately, Thorbjørn Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway under investigation for corruption over revelations in the files, was hospitalized due to what his lawyer said was strain. Switzerland looks set to enshrine the availability of cash in its constitution next month, manifesting a public desire that physical money must remain despite the widespread shift toward digital payments. The Swiss have long stood out from many other countries for an obsession with notes and coins, though their use has rapidly declined over the past decade. The US military boarded another sanctioned tanker with links to Venezuela after chasing it into the Indian Ocean, as the Trump administration continues to enforce a maritime blockade against the Latin American nation. Bertha was loaded in Venezuela in early December and boarded by US forces in the Indian Ocean. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro are deadlocked ahead of October's presidential election, according to our new poll that shows the race tied for the first time. Premier Li Qiang and Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated they'd like relations between their nations to improve, as the German leader arrived in Beijing on his first official visit to China since taking power last May — one that will be complicated by worries about trade and supplies of key minerals. Support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban crumbled less than seven weeks before a parliamentary election, according to a new poll, raising the prospect of a landslide victory for Peter Magyar's opposition Tisza party. Magyar during a news conference in Budapest last month. Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day A record $112 billion gap between what China reported exporting to the US and what Customs said actually arrived last year suggests that as much as a quarter of shipments to American shores may have slipped under the tariff radar. US authorities are aware of suspected evasion tactics, but are hamstrung by their reach and jurisdiction, and may end up hurting American companies disproportionately as they go after them for infractions instead of shell companies that evaporate overnight. And Finally Around 1,000 military personnel from Spain, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, the UK and Germany joined a collection of frigates, helicopters and patrol aircraft this month to scour the Norwegian Sea in pursuit of two submarines posing as adversaries. The annual exercise takes place at the gateway to the Arctic — a region of growing strategic importance even before Trump renewed his claim for US control of Greenland while questioning NATO's relevance. So this year's Alliance drill had an additional audience: the US president. Read what it was like to be on board. A German military helicopter landing at the Norwegian base near Bergen. Photographer: Iona Dutz/Bloomberg More from Bloomberg Check out our Bloomberg Investigates film series about untold stories and unraveled mysteries Next China for dispatches from Beijing on where China stands now — and where it's going next Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed Economics Daily for what the changing landscape means for policymakers, investors and you Green Daily for the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance Explore more newsletters at Bloomberg.com We're improving your newsletter experience and we'd love your feedback. If something looks off, help us by reporting it here. Follow us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, sign up here to get it in your inbox. Unsubscribe Bloomberg.com Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 |