Cartel members are attempting to block the Tuxpan–Mexico City highway in Veracruz. Active clashes are reported in the area.

Tuxpan is the closest maritime terminal to the capital and a key entry point for fuel supplies to central Mexico.

Operations at the port of Manzanillo have also reportedly been suspended.

This is likely the most serious blow delivered by the cartel in the past 24 hours. Manzanillo handles 45% of Mexico’s seaborne trade.

The pattern suggests an attempt to place the capital under economic siege by triggering a fuel crisis. The likely goal is to pressure federal authorities into negotiations or retreat.

Adding: 

Is the cartel following a plan?

Reports about the elimination of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel triggered immediate violence. 

Yet despite the apparent chaos, the focus on fuel and transport infrastructure, along with coordinated attacks on security posts, points to planning rather than random unrest.

Whether El Mencho is alive or not is secondary. What stands out is clear preparation. The cartel was ready for this scenario and may have known about his capture in advance.

This could be coincidence. But the scale and coordination of the attacks immediately after media reports make that unlikely.

With a wide network of informants inside corrupt police and law enforcement structures, access to timely information would not be difficult.

Via @rybar_latam

More about this:  Before Noon...

Leaked SMS messages from the cartel’s elite “Delta” unit shed light on the operation. The leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, El Mencho, was reportedly abducted first and only later eliminated.

You must be prepared to go into action after 12 noon.

Gentlemen, the order is clear: there will be no truce for those who dared to take the boss. Even his dog will die if by twelve they have not handed the man over to us. We will all move into action, killing civilians. Only children are to be spared. This is going to burn.

Deltas, Rojos, Escorpiones — all of the boss’s elite forces must enter into action.

Respectfully,

Delta 1

The cartel’s “Delta” unit is clearly named after its American counterpart. It is the cartel’s most heavily armed and combat-ready formation.

Its core consists of defectors from Mexican security forces, particularly those trained by U.S. instructors.

Via: @rybar_latam