The Situation in Mexico

[SummerLite]

Another one,

https://twitter.com/x/status/2027419214911303976

 

[Chu]

Bukele is not only a dictator, he is also a gangster and a Trumpist bootlicker, just like Milei in Argentina. Bukele has a long tail, and this is just one example:

I'm quite surprised by this statement. Are you sure you aren't basing this is the huge amount of propaganda about him? What you posted to back your claim actually contradicts your statement, IMHO, and what I've seen from Bukele also does. Asking Grok is not helpful, because it will follow the mainstream narrative. When you see the difference between El Salvador before, and after Bukele's "dictatorship", is night and day. I don't see any possible comparison with psychiatric-patient-potential Milei. Nor do I see a dictator/gangster. As for a "Trump booklicker", what I see is quite some strategy. My guess is that in order to be allowed to accomplish what he did in El Salvador, he had to make some concessions (like commit to not exposing the real involvement of the US/CIA in the building and supporting of the gangs.) I could be wrong, of course.

 

[Puma]

When you see the difference between El Salvador before, and after Bukele's "dictatorship", is night and day. I don't see any possible comparison with psychiatric-patient-potential Milei. Nor do I see a dictator/gangster

I am not the first to call Bukele a dictator.

Bukele's dictatorship shows its fangs

Ruth Leonora López, a well-known human rights activist, was imprisoned by the Bukele regime. El Salvador is a dictatorship, and Bukele is a dictator.

Ruth Leonora López, one of the most prominent and consistent activists for human rights and transparency in El Salvador, was arrested on Sunday night by Nayib Bukele's regime. She is, without a doubt, a political prisoner. Perhaps the most famous political prisoner of Bukelism to date.

Sometimes it seems that nothing is enough and that the world is only tremulous and calculating. Or lukewarm and timid. When Bukele took over the Legislative Assembly surrounded by military personnel and cameras in February 2020 and threatened to dissolve the first organ of the state, many said it was too early to call him authoritarian. When Bukele, after winning an absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly, occupied it in 2021 to illegally replace the attorney general who was investigating him and the Supreme Court justices who were ignoring him and impose officials loyal to him, many said it was too early to call him an autocrat.

He has given himself this title: "coolest Dictator"

How Nayib Bukele is becoming "the coolest dictator in the world"

Since becoming president on June 1, 2019, Nayib Bukele has consolidated his political power through strategies that have eroded democracy and the rule of law. Earlier this year, the ruling party achieved a qualified majority in the Legislative Assembly, allowing it to pass laws without negotiating with the opposition and to completely renew the Constitutional Chamber, whose rulings had been adverse to it. The impact of this measure was soon apparent when the new judges enabled presidential reelection despite it being expressly prohibited by the Constitution.

For the moment, nothing seems to be denting the high popularity of the president, who describes himself on his Twitter account as "the coolest dictator in the world." What's more, this served as an argument for the new judges of the Chamber to argue that "the rules on alternation are aimed at overcoming cases of presidents who no longer enjoy the approval of the people." However, recent weeks have seen unprecedented scenes of social unrest that could herald a change in the local climate.

I asked Grok to provide some context for journalist Erick Gutierrez's opinion. Bukele has turned El Salvador into a golden cage. Perhaps for some or all Salvadorans, this is fine.

I base my opinion of Bukele on comparing him to the Mexican experience and the main point I want to make is that the Bukele Model is not applicable to Mexico. IMHO the reason given by journalist Gutierrez is valid: "It is not the same to dismantle gangs as it is to try to contain criminal economies embedded in global chains."

The CJNG operates not only as a criminal group but also as a corporation, It operates under a scheme similar to that of franchises. Unlike the gangs, the CJNG's economic power allows it to buy not only heavy weapons but also allegiances.
​

CJNG. Its financial muscle: drug trafficking, money laundering, tourism, protection rackets, mining, and fuel theft.

Drug trafficking and territorial control were the seeds, but the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is far from being a criminal organization solely dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion, and contract killings. With a franchise scheme, the empire of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, extends to activities ranging from mineral trading to entertainment services that blend with the "formal economy."

According to U.S. Treasury documents and information from the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), this cartel consolidated a money laundering scheme that turned into investments in tourism, restaurants, real estate, mining, agriculture, and finance, among others. In 2018 alone, its connections with promoters of cockfighting arenas and fairs were reported.

Beyond the CJNG's increased involvement in "non-drug trafficking activities, such as gasoline theft, extortion, and real estate fraud," to diversify the drug trafficker's sources of income and protect its assets from seizure, in its most recent National Assessment, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) highlighted the growing "infiltration of legitimate industries."​

In Mexico, we experienced this "Bukele Model" during the period of the PRI dictatorship (1929-2000) It was possibly even harsher during the presidency of Gustavo Diaz Ordaz (1964-1970). Then we had the neoliberal experience in the 1980s and up until the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto (2018). During this neoliberal period, the power of the state in economic matters was dismantled, or what Milei calls "chainsaw." Yes, we have also experienced it. Incidentally, during those periods, Mexico had no significant problems with the US; there were no threats of intervention. Mexico was cool.

The Bukele clan (of Palestinian origin) has seized power in El Salvador, and since becoming president, the family has become landowners.

Corruption in El Salvador: Bukele's double game

The process of power concentration and democratic degradation that El Salvador is experiencing is accompanied by opaque management of resources and the weakening of control bodies. With institutions co-opted or neutralized and a government operating with impunity, Nayib Bukele is far from his electoral promises of transparency.

Since coming to power in 2019, Bukele has strived to surround himself with loyal people. Upon taking office, the "millennial president" assembled his new government by including cousins, family friends, and former classmates. However, his inner circle of influence consists of his three brothers, Karim, Yusef, and Ibrajim Bukele. Although they do not hold any official public office, they play a leading role in most of the president's decisions, including political strategy, the economy, and the appointment of public officials. Since then, they have served as key strategists, emissaries, and negotiators for the presidential administration. This set the tone for Bukele's presidency, which was dominated by the decision to strengthen his authority and undermine oversight institutions.​

Unlike the Mexican government, which extradited drug traffickers, Bukele's government refuses to extradite Maras leaders to the US. What are they trying to hide? Have they made a deal with the Maras and it's all a sham?
​

"Delay, interfere, undermine"

A lengthy US investigation into MS-13 has uncovered evidence that does not align with Bukele's reputation as a crime fighter. The investigation, which began as an attempt to dismantle the gang's leadership, expanded to focus on whether Bukele's government had made a secret pact with MS-13 in the early years of his presidency.

Reporting Highlights

Investigation Blocked: Despite President Nayib Bukele's image as a crime fighter, his top officials blocked the extradition of MS-13 leaders, according to officials.

Money Laundering Suspicions: U.S. agents prepared a request to examine whether Bukele and senior officials had diverted USAID funds to help MS-13 gang members.

Threats to U.S. Allies: Salvadoran justice and security officials had to flee El Salvador after being harassed and threatened by the country's government.​

Without a doubt, Bukele has more dark sides than bright ones. So there are cool dictators like Bukele and there are not-so-cool dictators like Kim Jong-un. What makes them different? The blessing of the United States?
​

 

[Ca.]

A reasonable observation by a retired Wyoming couple who weathered the Cartel storm on the twenty-second

Wyoming Couple Weathers Chaos In Puerto Vallarta, Has No Plans To Leave

A Thermopolis couple who rent a vacation home in Puerto Vallarta is doing fine after cartel violence rocked the city. “Sunday was a day from hell. We…

cowboystatedaily.com

February 24, 2026 5 min read
A Thermopolis couple who rent a vacation home in Puerto Vallarta is doing fine after cartel violence rocked the city. “Sunday was a day from hell. We didn’t know what was going on," Lindy Be Hughes told Cowboy State Daily. The couple has no plans to leave.

Thermopolis residents Matthew and Lindy Be Hughes rent a vacation home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They were there on Sunday when the city exploded in violence; vengeful drug cartel gangsters went on a rampage after the government killed their leader. (Courtesy: Lindy Be Hughes)

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is a wonderful place, said a Wyoming resident who rents a vacation home there. But on Sunday it erupted into a violent hellscape, as vengeful drug cartel gangsters went on a rampage after the government killed their leader.

“Sunday was a day from hell. We didn’t know what was going on. There were explosions and smoke and fire and gunfire,” Lindy Be Hughes told Cowboy State Daily.

She and her husband, Matthew, rent a house there. They were enjoying a quiet day at home, until the city erupted into a war zone.

Tourists and residents were ordered to shelter in place. But the Hughes defied the curfew and went out after dark to deliver food to a group of seven Canadian college students, who were trapped in an Airbnb rental, with only three packs of Ramen noodles between them.

‘They Were Enacting Their Revenge’​

Puerto Vallarta is one of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations, with a busy airport and cruise ship docks. It was one of the hardest-hit locations by the cartels after the government killed a kingpin on Sunday.

Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed in a Mexican military strike, aided by U.S. intelligence. The cartels struck back with violent attacks across the country.

The cartels seemed hell-bent on “terrifying tourists” and disrupting infrastructure, Hughes said.

“They took over the buses and lit things on fire. They were enacting their revenge and trying to hit the Mexican government where it hurts, because tourism is the lifeblood of the government’s economy,” she said.

“They crashed a bus through the wall of a restaurant” near her neighborhood, she said.

OXXO convenience stores are a favorite among residents and tourists. Hughes said there are several in her neighborhood, and the cartels targeted them.

“They burned every single one of them,” she said.

Told Not To Go Out​

The local community of Puerto Vallarta shatters negative stereotypes of life in Mexico, Hughes said.

The people are friendly and neighborhoods are close-knit, she said.

“I have girlfriends who are single, who walk home alone at night with no fear at all,” she said.

Hughes said that she and her husband had relatives over for an extended visit, and they had only just gone back home. So, she was relaxing and cleaning the house, expecting a quiet day on Sunday, when plumes of smoke started popping up everywhere.

Then came the sounds of explosions, and “rapid-fire gunshots” as gangsters and government troops clashed.

The word came out that everybody was ordered to hunker down where they were. Hughes said she felt thankful to have been at home.

Some of her neighbors were at a nearby shopping center and “were trapped there for hours,” she said.

Americans were cautioned not to venture out.

“We were told that if they (cartel members) saw Americans on the street, they would shoot you,” Hughes said.

‘Yay, We Get To Eat!’​

Hughes said she keeps her house “well stocked” with food and was more than happy to share as the neighborhood went into lockdown.

She got word that the father of a Canadian college student was worried, because his daughter was stuck in an Airbnb with no food.

That night, as things started to calm down a bit, the Hughes decided to risk venturing out, to bring the student some food.

“We drove there in the dark, with the headlights off,” she said.

Initially, she was expecting to find “a couple of teenage girls.”

It turned out, seven famished students were holed up in the Airbnb.

One of them was Savannah Rossouw of Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Lindy was so nice. My dad found her somehow and told her that we needed help,” she said.

The students had gone to Mexico on spring break and were planning to catch a flight out at 3 p.m. on Sunday, so they had almost no supplies.

“We had only three packs of Ramen, and we were splitting a pack of Ramen between seven of us” when the Hughes showed up, she said.

They realized more food was needed and made a second run.

“She came over again, when they weren’t even supposed to leave their house. And she brought over so much food. It was great. We were like, ‘Yay, we get to eat!’” Rossouw said.

By Tuesday, things had calmed down enough that some of her friends caught flights back to Canada. She and the others planned to fly out Thursday and Friday.

Thanks to Hughes, they have plenty of fresh food, Rossouw said.

“She’s so sweet,” she said.

‘They Are Rapidly Cleaning Up’​

By midday Tuesday, the city was nearly fully reopened, Hughes said.

She spoke to Cowboy State Daily while on her way to a salon to get her fingernails done.

Despite the gangsters lashing out, Puerto Vallarta has hardly missed a beat, she said.

“They are rapidly cleaning up,” she said, as tow truck crews were busy hauling off the burnt-out husks of vehicles.

“The restaurant wall where they drove the bus through is already being rebuilt and repainted,” she added.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.