Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has escalated efforts to weaken the dominance of drug cartels by deploying thousands of troops to infiltrate a major cartel base in Sinaloa state.
This new approach marks a significant shift in the country’s security strategy. During her campaign, Sheinbaum promised to continue the policies of her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who prioritized addressing the root social causes of crime rather than directly confronting the cartels—a strategy dubbed “hugs not bullets.”
However, her early months in office, following her inauguration in October 2024, have taken a decidedly more aggressive turn. The deployment of military, naval forces, special units, and heavy weaponry to Sinaloa is the largest in six years, triggered by an intra-cartel war that erupted in September.
These operations have led to high-profile arrests and record-breaking drug seizures, including the confiscation of over a ton of fentanyl, underscoring Sheinbaum’s more forceful stance against organized crime.
