Someone else is clearly discussing the whole army vs national guard etc. but it's also worth noting, these cartel members also have access to some serious hardware too.

It's a lot of dudes with assault rifles yeah, but they have been found to have a lot more heavy gear. Armor piercing rounds/weapons, plate carriers, armored/up armored vehicles, even surface to air missiles.

The Mexican military isn't just sitting there with their thumbs up their asses, they're doing what they can. But they're not dealing with a few jagoffs with shotguns and AKs, this is an organized militant group spread through the country that activated and started shit across the country overnight. That's not something you can just whip crack in a day and remove like a nail in a tire.