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The Rise and Fall of the CJNG

When Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, was killed in February 2026 during a military operation in Jalisco, the reaction across western Mexico was swift. Highways were blocked with burning vehicles. Armed men halted traffic and forced drivers from their cars. Airports were attacked and shut down. Within hours, multiple states were disrupted. The response made clear that this was not the death of a lone criminal actor. It was the removal of a component within a much larger system. His killing marked a tactical victory. Whether it marked a structural turning point in the war on cartels remains far less certain. For more than a decade, El Mencho led the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG, one of the two dominant Mexican transnational criminal organizations identified in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Threat Assessments. By the time of his death, the U.S. State Department had offered up to ten million dollars for information leading to his capt...
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How the Digital Age Is Connecting the Youth Through Protest

  On September 25, 2025, during a humid afternoon, the air in Antananarivo was thick and heavy. Hundreds of young people were pressed shoulder to shoulder as their chants echoed through the city streets. Flags bearing a motif from the anime One Piece, including a straw hat adapted from local Malagasy design, hung from their shoulders. Phones filled the air, each one held high with a collective sense of responsibility. Through their eyes, every moment was documented and broadcast to the world. Chanting and smoke filled the air as Madagascar’s capital became the center of Gen Z’s latest wave of protest. The demonstrations erupted after the military seized power from the civilian government. For the first time, the first images of a coup did not come from the news but from citizens themselves. Teenagers, not journalists, broke the story. Within minutes, videos spread across francophone Africa, showing the event as it unfolded. Strangers stitched clips together into a viral montage th...
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Journalism in Gaza

  Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, the territory has become the deadliest conflict zone for journalists in modern history. Over 270 journalists have been killed, more than in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and Afghanistan combined, with the vast majority being Palestinians targeted by Israeli forces.  At the same time, Israel has imposed a near total ban on international journalists entering Gaza, leading to a lack of independent reporting from the region. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 2024 was the deadliest year on record for journalists globally, with over 120 killed, more than half in Gaza alone. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that at least 192 journalists have been killed in the conflict, 184 of them Palestinian. This pattern continues. As recently as August 10, 2025, an Israeli airstrike killed six journalists in a single attack, including Al Jazeera reporters Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, and Ibrahim Zaher. They were shelte...
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