By Mia Martinez | Reporter
The killing of El Mencho, a Mexican cartel leader, triggered a wave of retaliatory violence across multiple parts of Mexico, drawing attention and raising concerns among students who have ties to the region.
Dr. Víctor Hinojosa is an associate professor in the Honors College. Hinojosa focuses on Latin American politics and U.S.-Latin American relations. Hinojosa emphasized the importance of this event, as El Mencho is the head of one of the country’s most powerful criminal organizations.
“He is probably the single most significant drug trafficker in Mexico,” Hinojosa said.
Immediately following his death, cartel members launched multiple attacks across states in Mexico. Airports temporarily closed, many tourist areas were evacuated and images of vehicles burning circulated on social media.
“It was a very tense day,” Hinojosa said. “But Mexico is a very big and very diverse country; the images you’re seeing on TV do not reflect the entirety of the situation.”
Although violence disrupted the daily life of citizens in certain areas, since then, some schools and airports have reopened. Hinojosa said it’s still too early to determine whether this event will lead to long-term changes in violence or drug trafficking operations.
“We have decades of evidence that the kingpin strategy — taking out the heads of major cartels — does not reduce violence or drug flows in the long term,” Hinojosa said. “Sometimes it actually leads to increases.”
The aftermath also saw a surge of false information online. Dramatic videos that rapidly circulated and were later identified as false or misleading. Hinojosa cautioned against reading about false information.
“This kind of violence is a daily reality for some communities,” Hinojosa said. “At the same time, reducing an entire country to a single story is problematic.”
The Center of Global Engagement for International Student and Scholar Services has not seen an increase in any travel-related concerns among international students following the incident, according to the center’s director, Mark Bryant.
Bryant also advises international students to avoid any unnecessary travel during spring break due to potential visa delays and paperwork complications.
“If they don’t know who to contact, they contact us,” Bryant said. “We help connect them to the office that can best serve them.”
Students who choose to travel are encouraged to submit an international travel request form so the university can provide support if any unexpected issues arise. The Global Engagement Center can verify enrollment status or provide updated paperwork in cases of documentation problems.
Beyond the paperwork, Bryant said Baylor supports students in other ways, emotionally or academically, during times of instability in their home countries. The office will often connect with these students for financial services or academic accommodations as needed.
“With over 900 international students at Baylor, we always encourage them to reach out,” Bryant said. “If we don’t know what their need is, we can’t help.”
