The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend

Let's be realistic here. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If the choice is between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel (including psychotic Los Zetas), as it seems to be, then it's better that the U.S. work with the Sinaloa Cartel. We don't have to like the Sinaloa folks to do business with them:

An investigation by El Universal has found that between the years 2000 and 2012, the U.S. government had an arrangement with Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed the organization to smuggle billions of dollars of drugs in exchange for information on rival cartels.

...There have long been allegations that Guzman, considered to be "the world’s most powerful drug trafficker," coordinates with American authorities.

..."The DEA agents met with members of the cartel in Mexico to obtain information about their rivals and simultaneously built a network of informants who sign drug cooperation agreements, subject to results, to enable them to obtain future benefits, including cancellation of charges in the U.S.," reports El Universal, which also interviewed more than one hundred active and retired police officers as well as prisoners and experts.

...El Universal said that the coordination between the U.S. and Sinaloa peaked between 2006 and 2012, which is when drug cartels consolidated their grip on Mexico. The report ends by saying that it is unclear whether the arrangements continue.

I make the point in Comments here, but I'm not sure people understand.