About this episode
The episode discusses Mexico's strategies against drug cartels and the implications of political leadership on violence and corruption.
Chris, Zack, and Melanie have a chat about how Mexico is handling the drug cartels, which continue to perpetrate terrible violence and facilitate massive corruption in the country. Can President Claudia Sheinbaum enact an anti-cartel strategy that will reduce the violence? Are institutions in government and the private sector too corrupt for any strategy to succeed? Will Trump, whose patience with Sheinbaum is limited, order military strikes on cartel targets in Mexico? And does she have any leverage to prevent this? Chris recognizes the life and legacy of Brian Finlay, Stimson's President and CEO, who passed away on June 3 rd . Show Links: David Mora, Why Mexico's Cartels are So Hard to Defeat: The Real Test of Sheinbaum's Security Strategy , Foreign Affairs, May 20, 2026. Jim Geraghty, In the Information War, the US Unilaterally Disarmed , Washington Post, May 26, 2026. Gavin Bade, Santiago Perez, and Christopher Otts, The Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America , Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2026. Fact Sheet: AUKUS Pillar II Signature Project , Department of Defense, May 30, 2026. Maria Abi-Habib and Eric Schmitt, Guatemala Agrees to…
People in this episode
Host: Chris
Guests: Zack, Melanie
Topics covered
- drug cartels
- Mexico
- violence
- corruption
- anti-cartel strategy
- Claudia Sheinbaum
- US military
Keywords
- Mexico
- drug cartels
- Claudia Sheinbaum
- violence
- corruption
- Trump
- anti-cartel strategy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Stimson Center, Foreign Affairs, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Department of Defense, New York Times
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