So cartels are like mafias?
In the episode with the head on the tortoise/turtle, he is dead. Hense why Hank feels sick. Later in season 3, the beginning of an episode is a flashback to The Cousins chopping off his head in a bar. The Cousins are part of a cartel, they chopped off his head, and the cartel Hank speaks about in the episode is the cartel they work for. That is what I believe from watching it.