The cartels are very well armed. There’s huge money in drugs, and tons of Mexican heroin are being moved across the border on a steady basis.
I’m surprised they’d dare to fire on a Mexican military helicopter, though; the military has been coming down hard on the cartels and has been criticized by the left for doing so, but this is certainly going to make it harder even for the leftists to support the cartels.
Which cartel do the guys in the chopper work for?