Mexico's Fight against the Cartels

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 3rd.

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 Joint Strikes with U.S. Against Drug Gangs, New York Times, May 28, 2026.

• "Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy | The Lionel Gelber Prize".

• Declan Walsh, "Inside the Ebola Epicenter, the Virus Rages With Little to Stop It," New York Times, May 30, 2026.

• Michael Cohen and Will A. Smith, "Is the Iran War Worth It?" May 29, 2026.

• "Remarks by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the 2026 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore (As Delivered)," U.S. Department of War, May 30, 2026.

• Stimson Remembers the Life and Legacy of President and CEO Brian Finlay • Stimson Center