Violence erupts in Mexico after army kills drug lord

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If there was a big red button that would just demolish the internet, I would smash that button with my forehead. From the BBC, this is The Interface, the show that explores how tech is rewiring your week and your world. This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews. It's about what technology is actually doing to your work, your politics, your everyday life. And all the bizarre ways people are using the internet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Andrew Peach and in the early hours of Monday the 23rd of February, these are our main stories.

0:50Violence has broken out across Mexico after the leader of one of the country's most feared drugs cartels was killed in a military operation. There's been a second day of protests at Iranian universities, with crowds chanting death to the dictator. And a man who broke into President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, has been shot dead. Also in this podcast, Ukraine's president tells BBC News that Russia has already started World War III. We have different views regarding a third world war. I believe that Putin has already started it. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him.

1:30And the Winter Olympics have come to an end at a glittering ceremony in Verona.

1:38We start in Mexico, where a government military operation has led to the killing of a major drugs kingpin, leader of the feared new generation Calisco cartel. Namesio Oseguera-Cervantes was known by his nickname El Mencho, a drug lord so powerful the US authorities put a 15 million dollar bounty on his head. Since his killing, the response from El Mencho's cartel has been swift and violent. In as many as eight different Mexican states, the group has set cars alight, built roadblocks and attacked security forces. Plumes of smoke have been filmed rising over several cities and many international flights have been cancelled.

2:15Our correspondent in Miami, Luis Fajardo, tell me more about the drugs lord. El Mencho was a very big figure in the crime world, both of Mexico and internationally. Friends and foes of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have acknowledged that it is a very big deal for the authorities to have killed him on Sunday. He was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which was seen as probably the most powerful or certainly one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico. A person who was compared to other major, major figures in the drug trafficking world, particularly his organization. It was said to have a big role in sending fentanyl to the United States, which has replaced cocaine as the drug of choice for many of these cartels, obtaining fabulous amounts of wealth from smuggling drugs to the U.S.

3:08El Mencho was 59. He had begun as a police officer. Then he had moved through the ranks of other criminal organizations until he organized the Jalisco New Generation cartel and rose to its top. So certainly a very big deal for Mexican authorities, taking a lot of credit for that today and hoping that this is going to have some kind of an impact, particularly on the relations with the United States, where Donald Trump has been demanding more cooperation from Mexico in fighting these drug trafficking organizations. That's interesting. I was going to ask you why now? And is it about trying to maintain good relations with Donald Trump?

3:47That's what some commentators have been saying, particularly commentators who are critical of Scheinbaum. They say that this action was also possible. I mean, it certainly seems to assign a lot of credit to Mexican authorities, to Mexican law enforcement, who were the main drivers of this operation. But again, critics say that this was also the result of very strong pressure from the U.S., and particularly the underlying threat that the U.S. has been presenting, that they're saying that or they have been suggesting in many occasions that they would take unilateral, even armed action against cartels if they perceived that Mexican authorities were not cooperating enough.

4:29So according to these commentators, this has also helped convince the Scheinbaum administration to move in apparently in a much more forceful way than had been the case in other years under other administrations in Mexico. And why are we seeing people all over the country setting cars on fire, building roadblocks, all that kind of thing? Certainly, this is also a reflection of the of the power and the influence that these cartels have. This is not entirely unprecedented. On other occasions when Mexican authorities managed to land big blows on the leadership of the cartels, they very often retaliated with this.

5:07They call them narco bloquos, narco roadblocks. The cartel operatives move across the country, apparently in more than 10 states in Mexico, different parts of the country, blocking key roads, setting vehicles on fire, creating a sensation of chaos to directly confront the authorities to say that they are also dealing with a very powerful organization in Mexico and that they are not going to simply disappear. That's one of the things that has been said, that even though this is a very important achievement by the Mexican law enforcement authorities, nobody is expecting the cartels to disappear anytime soon.

5:45They remain extremely powerful. Probably right now there's already movements within the crime world in Mexico to see who is going to replace El Mencho, and they are going to be continuously influential. However, Mexican authorities will insist that this is a demonstration that they can also strike back at these cartels. Luis Fajardo from BBC Monitoring. Next, to Iran.

6:14The sounds there from a second day of anti-government protests by Iranian students at several universities. Shame on you, shame on you, they're chanting. the first rallies to take place on a scale like this since January's deadly crackdown by the authorities, which saw thousands of people killed. It comes as tension continues to mount between Iran and the US over its nuclear program. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Aragchi, has said he believes there's still a chance that dispute could be solved diplomatically based on a win-win game. He told US television he'd probably meet with President Trump's envoy Steve Whitcoff in Geneva on Thursday.

6:50We continue our negotiation. At the same time, we are working on the elements of a deal and a draft of the text. So I hope that when we get there, we are prepared to talk and negotiate on those drafts. Mr. Araqqi also repeated his insistence that Iran's nuclear enrichment program wasn't up for negotiation. President Trump has given Tehran little more than a week to strike a deal or face military action. In Iran, the students who gathered at numerous universities over the weekend at the start of a new semester did so to honour those killed last month. I spoke to BBC Persians' Barman Karbassi and put it to Barman that anyone going out on the streets of Iran to protest must be pretty brave.

7:34And that's putting it mildly. I mean, we are looking at just around 45 days ago where tens of thousands of people were killed or injured, many more arrested. some of them getting execution sentences, death sentences, awaiting executions. So the environment that this regime has created is one of instilling as much fear as one can possibly imagine. And despite it all, we've seen elite universities across the country coming out in force, students chanting against the supreme leader, even holding up the historic flag of Iran and demanding the end of this regime directly, chanting against the Supreme Leader repeatedly.

8:23These are the scenes that just indicates that nothing this government has done this month and a half has really changed the calculus of the population. Okay, well I guess that's if the protesters represent the population. The protesters certainly want a change of government. Do you think that the wider Iranian population is in support of that? Absolutely. I mean, even though there's no opinion polls done, the fact that we saw on January 8th and January 9th millions of people come to streets, one can confidently say a vast majority of Iranians want change and they don't want incremental change.

9:02They want fundamental change. Do we have any sense of how the current Iranian authorities are going to respond to these protests? Well, if passes prologue, we can say that if it gets out of their control, especially if it spills out onto the streets of major cities, they will once again use violence the way they did on January 8th and 9th. Will they be putting machine guns on the streets, corners that they did on those two bloody nights? Depends, but it also really different in the sense that the world is watching. U.S. forces are on the shores of Persian Gulf and the chances of a military conflict is much higher.

9:42So there may be a second thinking among the authorities to not maybe resort to that kind of violence right away. But if it does get out of hand, they will not hesitate to kill. And what do you make of the offer of some kind of proposal from Iran over the nuclear deal, over talks with the US that were promised in the next couple of days? The devil is going to be in the details. We'll have to see if they'll meet sort of the minimum, bare minimum that the Trump administration is asking. And now there's conflicting reports of what is it that they're asking as far as the nuclear file is concerned. But they have asked for zero enrichment of uranium.

10:22But there has been some reports that they are OK with some nominal, very symbolic, controlled version of enrichment uranium. Will that bridge the gap? That's a big question. But the answer to that question this time will not be taking weeks to arrive. It seems like it's only a matter of days that we will know. Apparently, one meeting will be happening again in Geneva on Thursday. will there be enough compromise on part of Iranians and some on part of the Trump administration to avoid a military conflict? We will know the answer to that, not many days after Thursday meeting. We will get a sense of how realistic that is.

11:03Barman Kalbassi from BBC Persian with me. US Secret Service agents have shot dead a man, they say, trying to break into President Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Officials said the suspect, who's now been named as Austin Tucker Martin, was carrying a shotgun and a fuel can. The details from Simi Jalau show. Police and federal agents have been combing through the scene at the Mar-a-Lago resort, piecing together exactly what happened in the early hours of the morning when they say a man in his 20s breached the property's security and was confronted by the Secret Service and a local sheriff's deputy.

11:38Rick Bradshaw, who's the sheriff of Palm Beach County, gave the statement. He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. He put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position. At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. The authorities have released a photo of what they say was a shotgun recovered at the scene, but gave no further details of 21-year-old Austin T. Martin from North Carolina. Reports say his parents alerted authorities that he was missing last night. Now, officials are investigating whether he purchased the shotgun somewhere along his driving route from North Carolina to Florida.

12:21The FBI Director, Kash Patel, has said the agency will dedicate all necessary resources to investigate the shooting and the man's motive. Simi Jalauh Show reporting. No thanks was the message from Denmark to the United States after President Trump said the US was sending an American hospital ship to take care of people in the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland. Somewhat indignant, Greenland's Prime Minister pointed out it had a public health system which is free for citizens, unlike in the US where going to the doctor costs money. Our reporter Jacob Evans told us it's not clear what prompted President Trump's announcement.

12:58President Trump posted this AI-generated image on Truth Social of this large American boat, this floating hospital, sailing off into the horizon. And he tweeted that he's going to send a great big hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick. And he said that they're not being taken care of. But we don't really know what this means, because there's no public health emergency, there's no real initiation behind this. He's just put that out there and said he's working with Jeff Landry, the governor from Louisiana, who's his envoy to Greenland as well. And this didn't go down very well.

13:29First and foremost, Mehta Fredriksson, the Prime Minister of Denmark, said, No, thank you, we're all right. We've got free and public universal healthcare for everybody, and everyone's fine. And then the same was said by Jens Fredrick-Nielsen, like he just said, who said, Thank you, but no thanks. We've got free healthcare, we've got a very good system, and our people in Greenland are fine. We don't need your interference. This is part of a broader scope Trump's had trying to acquire Greenland. He's made it very obvious that that's what he wants to do. He didn't rule out taking it by force, but then he's backtracked on that, as we found out in January.

13:58and this seems perhaps just a bit of a provocation. I checked the tracking data of the ship, which he allegedly might use, and it's still docked in Mobile, Alabama, so it's not on its way there any time soon. It's been a star-studded few hours here in London with the BAFTA Awards ceremony honouring the best in cinema. This is the British equivalent to the Oscars. It can often be a signpost towards what might happen at the Academy Awards in a few weeks from now. Our entertainment correspondent Colin Patterson sent this report from backstage. And the BAFTA goes to one battle after another. It was an evening when one battle after another picked up one BAFTA after another.

14:36Thank you, Sensei, thank you! God damn it! Viva la Revolucion! In the thriller, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a jaded revolutionary, trying to save his daughter from a white supremacist. It won six BAFTAs in total, including Best Film and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. The night's biggest shock came in Best Actor. Robert Aramayo from I Swear. Hull's Robert Aramayo rewarded for playing the Scottish Tourette's campaigner John Davidson in I Swear and becoming the first person in BAFTA history to win both Best Actor and the Rising Star Award on the same night. I absolutely can't believe this. I can't believe that I'm looking at people like you and I'm in the same category of you, never mind that I'm still here.

15:21BAFTA goes to Jesse Buckley. Jessie Buckley was the first ever Irish winner of Best Actress for playing William Shakespeare's wife Agnes in Hamnet. As a little girl, I never in a million years thought I'd be allowed to make a film. Hamnet was also named Outstanding British Film, while Manchester's Wumi Musaku was Best Supporting Actress for her role as a hoodoo priestess in the period vampire film Sinners. Thank you for this incredible honour, BAFTA, thank you. Next, the Oscars in three weeks' time. Our entertainment correspondent Colin Patterson at the BAFTAs. Still to cover this podcast, pilgrims in Italy get a rare chance to see the bones of St Francis of Assisi, who died 800 years ago.

16:13It's a celebration. It's a wonderful joy to be able to share an experience. It's especially so for me because I had the experience of meeting, getting to know and seeing the remains of Francis 10 years ago. And the centuries-old Belgian folk tradition that's difficult to swallow for some.

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17:12Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has told BBC News he believes Russia has already started what amounts to World War III, but Kyiv is keeping it contained. Nearly four years after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Zelensky insists it's only a matter of time until his forces retake all the territory currently occupied by the Kremlin. His statement came as Ukrainian units pushed forward, retaking land at the fastest rate since 2023. He's been speaking to our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. Some people, I think including President Trump, say Ukraine cannot win this war.

17:49Are they correct? Where are you now? Today you're in Kyiv. You're in the capital of our homeland. You are in Ukraine. I'm grateful for this. Will we lose? Of course not, because we are fighting for Ukraine's independence. You're not saying that victory means getting all the land back, are you? In any case, we will achieve that That is absolutely clear It's only a matter of time To do it today would mean losing a huge number of people Millions of people Because the Russian army is large And we understand the cost of such steps We would not have enough people We would be losing them And what is land without people?

18:34Honestly, nothing And we also do not have a sufficient amount of weapons. That depends not only on us, but on our partners. As of today, this is not available. But returning to the just borders of 1991 is without a doubt a victory for justice. When Joe Biden was U.S. president, he was worried about Putin's nuclear threats, nuclear saber rattling, fear of World War III. Does Trump think the same way? We have different views regarding a third world war. I believe that Putin has already started it. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him. Not because Russia must not win, but because Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves.

19:27Therefore, I believe and have long believed that Putin has already begun this war and we're preventing it from becoming a broad, full-scale Third World War. Let's talk a little bit about the ceasefire talks which are going on. There's talk of another round next week. You have said that both the United States and Russia have told you that the way to get a ceasefire by the summer is for you, Ukraine, to give up the 20 % of Donetsk that you still have, those so-called fortress cities. Isn't that a reasonable thing to do? I see this differently. I don't look at it simply as land, or not only as that.

20:07I see it as abandoning, weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there. That is how I see it. And I am sure that this withdrawal would divide our society. Steve Witkoff, Trump's negotiator, goes to Moscow, talks to Putin, he comes back, the messages are then relayed to you. It seems to be, a lot of people would say, that he is absorbing Putin's talking points, Russia's narrative, and they are putting it to you and getting you to agree that they're putting you under a lot of pressure. Today I cannot say that for certain. Do you know why? Because Witkow says the opposite.

20:49I met with your group more often than with the Russians. That is what he says. Indeed, I have had many meetings with President Trump, while President Trump has only one meeting with Putin. My opinion, they should stop the Russians, not try to please them, because they will lie anyway. They care only about themselves and their own interests. Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky talking to our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. Now to Italy, where the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games is taking place at the Olympic Arena in Verona. As always, the games were packed with big moments.

21:27Norway's cross-country ski champion Johannes Uslert-Klebo won a record six gold medals in a single winter games, a feat the 29-year-old is just beginning to comprehend. I felt like I just kept my calmness and I was just always on to the next one. So I think when I crossed the finish line yesterday, I was really tired and exhausted for sure. So a lot of emotions that are just finally being relieved after kind of holding them back a little bit for the first five races because you know that you always have the next one. Our correspondent Sarah Mulkerins was at the game. She told us what the highlights had been for her.

22:05There's been so many to pick from. We heard there from Clavo. He was really a big force in these games. Another Norwegian, though, born skier, he brought South America's first Winter Olympics medal. After more than a century, the continent finally got on the podium. That was Lucas Pinero-Brath, and he skied to giant slalom gold for Brazil, representing the country of his mother. Two women as well, for me, stuck out their stories of resilience and finding their own way in elite sport. Michaela Schifrin, she really struggled in Beijing. I remember talking to her there. She was very open and honest about the weight and the pressure of the Olympics and struggling under that.

22:42She was able to come back and win gold in the slalom here, as was Alyssa Liu. She is the American figure skater. She's just 20 years old. She grew up in the sport. It dominated her life to a detrimental effect. At 16, she retired after Beijing four years ago. But she found her way back and she did it on her own terms, dictating her own training, what she would eat, what she would skate to. and she produced a free skate that was so full of joy to win the gold and just celebrating how you can compete in top-level sport, but you can do it your own way. Staying in Italy, a hilltop town in Umbria is preparing to welcome hundreds of thousands of Christian pilgrims over the next few weeks.

23:25They'll descend on the town to see the remains of St Francis of Assisi, which are going on public display for the first time since his death 800 years ago. The medieval monk is a significant figure in Christian history and was particularly admired by the late Pope Francis. Pete Ross gave more details to my colleague Alex Ritson. Giovanni di Pietro di Barnardone, more popularly known as Francis of Assisi, died in the 13th century. Up until now, Alex, the remains of the medieval friar, whose inspired generations of Christians, have been held hidden from view at the Basilica of St Francis in his Umbrian hometown of Assisi.

24:02on Saturday his bones which have been held or were held in a reliquary which is a special container used to house holy relics were transferred in procession from the crypt to the lower church and put at the main altar now while this is the first time they're going on display to the public St Francis' remains have periodically been inspected over the years by Franciscan friars who have done it for sort of conservation purposes I guess to make sure they're all right Father Marco Maroni, custodian of the sacred convent, is one of those lucky few who's done just that. And earlier he expressed his delight at the momentous occasion.

24:44It's a celebration. It's a wonderful joy to be able to share an experience. It's especially so for me because I had the experience of meeting, getting to know and seeing the remains of Francis 10 years ago during a reconnaissance that had been carried out. And so the desire born from that to be able to share all of this. He was a significant figure in the church. Yeah, Alex, I think incredibly significant. He was one of the most venerated figures in Christianity. He was canonised by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. He came from a wealthy family, but he renounced his fortune to live a simple life as a friar, receiving what he said was a vocation to rebuild and reform the church.

25:24and he's perhaps best known for his message of peace and his attention to the less fortunate, to the poor. And as you mentioned earlier, his teaching strongly inspired the late Pope Francis who was so enamoured with him that he was the first pope to name himself after the saint. And so now hundreds of thousands of people expected to descend on this town to see the remains. Yeah, and as you can imagine, that is a real concern for local authorities. Assisi is actually already one of the world's most popular pilgrimage destinations. So the influx of a potential half a million pilgrims over just one month, you know, through those cobbled medieval streets is going to be quite a task.