Bangladesh, March 3 -- With the latest reports about US intelligence support in Mexico, one wonders whether the so-called “war on drugs” is quietly morphing into something far more dangerous. The CIA (plus the FBI and even ICE) reportedly provided intelligence that has directly enabled lethal operations against Mexican cartels, including drug lord El Mencho (Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes), the recently killed leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The CIA in fact is known to have been conducting covert operations in Mexican territory for years, but the CIA-aided killing of El Mencho clearly marks a new phase. The cartel has retaliated against Mexican forces turning Jalisco and other Mexican states into a war zone. ...