NewsTracker Answers for week of Mar. 02, 2026

Q: Mexico was swept by a wave of fires and violence by drug gang members last week after the government killed the nation’s most wanted drug cartel boss, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho. Where is Mexico?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Most of last week’s rioting by drug gangsters occurred around what city near Mexico’s west coast?

A. Guadalajara

B. Mexico City

C. Monterrey

A. Guadalajara is the capital and largest city in the western state of Jalisco. El Mencho was the boss of the Jalisco drug cartel. Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey are scheduled to host soccer matches during this year’s World Cup. The violence raised concerns about safety during the world’s largest sporting event.

Q: Killing El Mencho is likely to spark violence between Mexican drug gangs, but it is unlikely to stop the flow to the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs – the United States. What percentage of U.S.residents 12 years or older said they used illegal drugs in 2024?

A. 15%

B. 20%

C. 25%

D. 30%

C. One in four Americans reported using illegal drugs in 2024. That would amount to 73.6 million people in the United States, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The U.S. government also estimated that Americans spent more than $100 billion on illegal drugs in 2023.

Q: El Mencho is hardly the first drug cartel leader to be killed or imprisoned by a government. Mexican drug cartels gained much greater power after gangsters lost power in which nation?

A. Bolivia

B. Colombia

C. Honduras

D. Venezeula

B. Mexican gangs have been trafficking drugs to the United States since switching from alcohol smuggling during U.S. Prohibition. However, the power of Mexican drug gangs soared after the fall of Colombia’s Cali and Medellin cartels in the 1990s. Colombia remains the world’s largest cocaine producer.

Q: It is estimated that the United States has spent more than $1 trillion in its war on drugs. What has happened since the “war” was declared by President Richard Nixon in 1971?

A. Drug use increased

B. Street prices dropped

C. Imprisonment exploded

D. All of the above

D. Many people appear to be skeptical of methods used in the war on drugs. A 2014 survey found that two-thirds of Americans said treatment for drugs like heroin and cocaine is better than the criminal prosecutions that led to the United States’ record-high imprisonments.