Several cartel operatives said that for the first time in years, they genuinely feared arrest or death at the hands of the authorities.

Mexico will wait and see if U.S. President Donald Trump goes through with his threat to slap tariffs on its southern neighbor on Tuesday, the nation's president said on Monday, adding that Mexico has back-up plans in case the tariffs go into place.

Only a couple years ago, manufacturers were fighting for space to relocate their operations to Monterrey, an industrial city in Mexico’s northeast, as they sought to move closer to the US and its vast consumer market.