Saving Lives in Mexico’s Cartel Wars

A wave of extreme violence has been sweeping across Mexico after the death of a drug cartel boss. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as "El Mencho", died in custody, shortly after being captured in a bloody firefight in Jalisco.

Mexico's president praised the country's special forces for "bringing down" Mexico's most wanted man. Mexico’s drug cartels wield enormous power in the country and have an arsenal that rivals the military. But violence, intimidation and corruption are their weapons too, and they are prepared to kill anyone who stands in their way; politicians, journalists and civilians.

As the BBC's Quentin Sommerville found in another Mexican cartel hotspot, Culiacán in northern Sinaloa state, the vacuum left by the removal of a powerful cartel leader can trigger a surge in violence as warring factions battle for control.