Munguía Payés had vowed to unleash soldiers on gang enclaves across the country. But as a military tactician, he also knew when a battle was unwinnable. Privately, he tapped an ex-guerrilla to start talks: in exchange for perks such as conjugal visits, the transfer of inmates out of Zacatraz, and a pause in military crackdowns in gang neighborhoods, the gangsters would stop killing one another and anyone else who got in their way.
