The U.S. government and state of Texas under the rubric of the War on Drugs have been involved in intimate collaboration with corrupt police and security forces involved in torture and murder. Breitbart News, however, has touted the corrupt governor of Tamaulipas—who helped open up Mexico’s hydrocarbon resources to exploitation by foreign companies—as a hero.

Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) has become one of the most feared paramilitaries in Mexico over the last decade. Images of the group have become the standard depiction of the Mexican cartel writ large. Their propaganda videos often feature groups of masked men bristling with enough small arms to...