Under President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, Mexico has maintained a top-down, militarized, and kingpin strategy against criminal organizations. These criminal groups have systematically replaced formal state authority in municipalities across Mexico. Revisiting the current policy approach is necessary, as criminal networks' significant political effects make the militarized approach ill-suited to addressing the core issue: the absence of effective civil governance. Investing in municipal police forces, strengthening local institutions, and implementing anti-corruption mechanisms will effectively dismantle criminal governance and restore effective state control.