Perhaps it was/is believed that a single Cartel in charge in Mexico would be handled more easily than the plethora of organizations there now. Perhaps it was not understood that a cartel that strong could sweep away the Mexican government and take total charge of the country very easily but that lack of understanding is not likely. What is the American goal in Mexico? Destruction of the state? to what end?
From the golden triangle, to soldiers in Afghanistan, to Mena airport in Arkansas in the 80s, our government has a long history of happily allowing drug production/smuggling in exchange for military and CIA goals.
Combine that with the billions knowingly laundered by mainstream banks, and the fact that you don’t exactly see anyone moving to close the border with a nation involved in a narco civil war and yes, it’s pretty obvious that our intelligence agencies and government are cutting deals with some cartels.
There is no goal in Mexico. They care not what happens there. The goal is here in the U.S.
1. Putting one drug cartel into power provides an organized and predictable supply of drugs into the U.S.
2. The organized supply of drugs into the states provides the feds with a reason for the war on drugs.
3. Seizure laws and drug busts in the U.S. generate large sums of money.
4. Seized assets and money are funneled into co-vert ops.
5. Co-vert ops provide the ability to do whatever they want wherever they want whenever they want.
6. No rules and no accountabilty equals power.
A conspiracy? Yeah. To what end? Oldest one in the book: power. He who makes the rules controls the narrative and the game.