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What Foreign Executives Need To Know About Logistics In Mexico In 2026
After Mexican security forces killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Osequera Cervantes (the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cartel), gunmen responded by hijacking and setting cars and trucks on fire to blockade highways, paralyzing logistics routes across Mexico. The Mencho operation is a major breakthrough in Mexico’s fight against organized crime. But, it’s also an event that will have a long-term impact on logistics security in 2026 and beyond.
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-jalisco-cartel-mencho-chapo-085457e7bb58efc09fcb0f23463ed6f7
Mexico’s President Sheinbaum had previously promised to dismantle Mexico’s organized crime groups through improved police intelligence and investigative capacity. The killing of El Mencho, absolutely proves that the Sheinbaum administration is not messing around.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/world/americas/trump-sheinbaum-us-mexico-cartel.html
But, moving forward Sheinbaum needs to do more to invest in police capacity and more highway patrols. Mexico is the highest risk country in the world for violent in-transit cargo theft. Most of the robberies take place in central Mexico. Data collected in Reliance Partner’s Mexico Cargo Truck Hijacking Data Portal shows that in 2025, Mexico State and Puebla account for more than 81% of the official tally of violent hijackings in Mexico.
https://borderlesscoverage.com/mexico-cargo-hijacking-data-portal/
Jalisco, Querétaro, Guanajuato, and Veracruz are also hotspots for hijacking. In Jalisco, there was a recent attack on an armored vehicle carrying Apple iPhones.
https://www.telediario.mx/policia/tlaquepaque-grupo-armado-robar-camion-lleno-iphones
In other recent incidents theives hijacked trucks carrying tequila, cigarettes, soda, and other products.
Crossborder trade is not going to grind to halt. As Mexico recovers from the violent aftermath of the El Mencho killing, logistics routes will begin operating at full speed.
However, foreign executives must understand the short-term consequences. The immediate aftermath of this killing has yielded extremely dangerous and violent cartel activity. We have seen the burning of cargo trucks and the shutting down of highways — events that will drastically impact the North American supply chain for the foreseeable future.
History tells us something else: when one cartel ends, another forms. CJNG itself was formed around 2011 out of the remnants of the Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated Milenio Cartel. Criminal activity does not simply stop. In my professional opinion, we will see CJNG splinter, and new motivated leaders will emerge. These new cartels will begin engaging in new criminal activity, including cargo hijackings of U.S. product. Violent cargo hijackings could now get worse instead of better, and we may see more nationwide Mexican trucker blockades like those in November 2025 that severely disrupted key trade routes to the United States.
Why U.S. Companies Must Pay Attention to FTO Designations
Americans traditionally think of Al Qaeda and ISIS when they hear the term “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” But foreign executives need to remember that many Mexican cartels are on this list. On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated CJNG as an FTO.
A very key piece for U.S. companies to understand is this: if they provide “material support or resources” to a designated FTO, it is a federal crime. Leadership members of U.S. manufacturers and transportation intermediaries can face up to 20 years in prison if they are tendering freight to Mexican trucking companies that are owned, leveraged, or operated by a Mexico-based FTO.
What Companies Must Do Now
U.S. companies that manufacture and distribute in and out of Mexico should adopt the following as a foundation for their cross-border risk management strategies:
- Know who is moving your freight within Mexico. Vet all current and future Mexican trucking partners well beyond minimum legal standards.
- Implement the holy trinity of cargo tracking:
- Install GPS inside the truck
- Install load-lock monitoring (alert when the seal is broken)
- Place a tracking device on the cargo itself
These three solutions must be monitored in real time with local response.
- Know the Mexican law on cargo insurance. Liability is calculated using UMA (Unit of Measurement and Actualization), currently about 114 pesos per day multiplied by 15 — approximately $93 USD per ton, or roughly $1,860 per truckload. In practical terms, there is basically no meaningful cargo insurance requirement, and enforcement is rare. This should terrify a U.S. shipper.
- Implement a true all-risk cross-border cargo insurance program with low deductibles that includes theft — because when the above tactics don’t work, you need insurance.
In 2026, logistics security in Mexico is no longer just an operational issue. It is a legal, financial, and executive-level risk that demands immediate attention.