After El Mencho: A Data-Driven Look at an Evolving Drug Market

El Mencho was dead. Nemesio Oseguera had been killed on February 22 by Mexican authorities in dramatic fashion, and we at InSight Crime had written more than a few articles. But I felt like the story had only been partially told. After all, the group he ran—the Jalisco Cartel New Generation, or CJNG, as it is known for its Spanish acronym—had revolutionized the production and distribution of one of the most consumed drugs on planet earth: methamphetamine. 

The story of El Mencho, it seemed to me, was the story of methamphetamine. 

At least that was my hypothesis, so I went about trying to prove it. But that was challenging. The information I needed to show how this had unfolded over a nearly 20-year period in which El Mencho operated is fragmented. And I needed different types of information: consumption data, price data, and seizures, among them. Markets also evolve, and the means by which people measure them do as well. In other words, there was no single source that connected the full evolution of the business. And it is difficult to move from isolated events (arrests, seizures, deaths) to understanding market dynamics and criminal evolution.

There are amazing new tools to help this process. I am, of course, talking about artificial intelligence. Some of the AI tools draw from a huge pool of sources and can provide, shall we say, questionable results. But others, such as Nelson AI from Southern Pulse, have put together a bespoke list of trusted sources on topics like this. By keeping it enclosed, the results are more targeted and reliable. And they helped me move from scattered information to structured analysis.

The Methamphetamine Formula

I began my quest by going broad. That gave me the overview.

The results were not just about quantities but about geographic distribution of production centers, chemical innovation, production capacity, and market share in places like the United States. Nelson took me into the story of how the CJNG expanded and evolved, eventually striking countries further afield, such as Australia. And it frequently presented me with analytic themes that cut across this huge geographic expanse and time period.

SEE ALSO: What the Story of Meth Tells Us About the Future of Mexico’s CJNG

A lot of this was based on our work at InSight Crime, as well as a slew of other reliable sources from around the region. It added to its in-line sourcing with reading lists. 

The work was part of a collaboration between Nelson AI and InSight Crime. For months, the team at Southern Pulse has been curating sources for Nelson and tweaking its system to give you the best, most reliable results about what you want and need to know. The result is Nelson’s bespoke character, unique in its ability to provide a cross-cutting, longitudinal, geographic sweep of the events of the type I needed. 

My final, published article reflects this character. It provided me with rich data, sure-footed analysis, and important context. Mencho did not create this methamphetamine juggernaut alone, of course, and the CJNG will continue to be a major factor in organized crime. Nelson will continue to be a great tool to help me and others understand these dynamics going forward. 

So try it to see if it fits your needs. Whether you are looking for details about events, more context, deeper data, or nuanced analysis, Nelson AI will go on that journey with you. And armed with great sources like InSight Crime, it will give you results you can trust. Use our discount code to help yourself get a foot in the door of the next phase of research and analytic understanding. 

Use our discount code INSIGHTCRIME25OFF to get a foot in the door to your next phase of research and analytic understanding.