Photo above – my Google/Copilot image search for “American tourists fleeing burning Mexican gas station” returned this gem, among others.

I tried to get a simple answer. How much is a kilo of fentanyl worth? And how many KG are smuggled annually in to the US? Apparently, nobody knows. Fentanyl ($139 per gram) is 4X more expensive on the street than heroin. But how much is coming across? Anybody’s guess. The low end is about 15,000 kg annually. So . . . $5 billion to cartels just for Fentanyl. How about meth, heroin, and cocaine? Surprisingly, Mexican marijuana is still the number one profit center for cartels, despite legalization in so many states.

Back to the Jalisco cartel.

The Mexican army – based on US intelligence – successfully arrested cartel kingpin "El Mencho" yesterday. Cartel soldiers then **UN-**successfully tried to rescue their leader as he was being driven to jail. There was a shootout that resulted in a dozen dead including, El Jefe himself. Then the torching of gasolineras started. Serious money is involved here. Cartels are unlikely to step back from those billions because of a minor setback like this.

I’m not sure why Mexico needed Trump administration intel to locate the most wanted man their own nation. I can understand why the Mexican army spearheaded the apprehension. I can only speculate that local police, frozen out of the arrest, quickly leaked the make, model, and tag number of the SUV being hauling El Mencho away, leading to the shootout. Convince me I’m wrong.

I haven’t been to Mexico in several decades. It’s seems to be a scarier place now. I think it’s wrong to blame American addicts, or American drug laws, for the power of cartels in Mexico to corrupt and intimidate the police and government. Legalizing pot didn’t help Mexico move forward, and legalizing fentanyl won’t either.

Congrats to Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum. Thanks for your action. Double your guards and vet them carefully.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Violence erupts in Mexico after cartel leader "El Mencho" killed in military operation - CBS News