Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel blazes a bloody trail in rise to power

MEXICO CITY — Before they allegedly tried to assassinate this city's police chief, the foot soldiers of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel already had left a bloody wake across the country.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has killed judges, congressmen, dozens of police officers and thousands of civilians. Its fighters once shot down a military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. The cartel controls the movement of more than a third of all drugs consumed in the United States, U.S. officials say, and has expanded into Europe and Asia.