Mexico's drug war: New cartel has weapons of an army and is willing to fight government

It has the drugs and distribution system of a traditional cartel - and it has the modern weapons and audacity of an army. After attacking federal forces, downing a military helicopter and shutting down streets in Mexico's second-largest city this month, New Generation Jalisco cartel is now the main enemy in the country's fight with drug cartels.

In just a few years, New Generation has grown from being an offshoot of the powerful Sinaloa cartel to one of Mexico's strongest criminal groups in its own right, according to the US Treasury Department, whose Office of Foreign Assets Control maintains a "black list" of drug trafficking organisations.

Its quick rise reflects a rapidly changing organised-crime landscape in Mexico as the government targets top leaders of established cartels. More than any other criminal group, New Generation has taken advantage of the government's top-capo strategy, strengthening and grabbing territory from other cartels as they are weakened.

"You're talking about a powerful, large organisation with grand logistics, well-made structures, a strong group of assassins, and dedicated and qualified people with high-calibre weaponry," Guillermo Valdes, a security expert and former director of the Mexican intelligence agency, said. "It's a new cartel, a second generation born in a restructuring process."

The strategy of hitting the top leadership began in 2006 under President Felipe Calderon and has continued under his successor, Enrique Pena Nieto. As a result, large organisations have been fragmented, leaving smaller, leaderless groups to fight among themselves over control of local organised crime activities and drug-smuggling routes to the north.

When Calderon was in office, there were five major cartels. Today, the Mexican attorney general lists nine major groups and 43 smaller factions.

New Generation has its origin in that fragmentation.