Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the highly effective and long-pursued head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and one of many world’s most-wanted traffickers, died following a Mexican military operation on Sunday, handing the country a consequential victory as it seems to be to indicate tangible outcomes to the Trump administration.
Oseguera, a former police officer, led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, as it turned one of many “most powerful and ruthless criminal organizations” inside Mexico, in response to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
Violence erupted in a number of states in Mexico after safety forces from a number of federal branches of Mexico’s military carried out the operation in the city of Tapalpa in the western state of Jalisco. Officials stated suspected members of organized crime unleashed a wave of violence following the operation, torching buses and companies whereas clashing with safety forces.
Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense stated that US authorities offered “complementary information” that supported the operation. A US protection official confirmed that an interagency US process power “played a role” in the operation. However, the exact function that the US performed continues to be unclear.
Police officers safe the world the place autos have been set on hearth by organized crime members to dam a highway in Zapopan, Mexico, following a military operation in which Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, generally recognized as “El Mencho,” was killed. – Gilberto Gallo/Reuters
Since its establishment in January, the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel has usually labored with the Mexican military by means of US Northern Command to fight cartel operations alongside the US-Mexico border, the US official stated.
“However, I want to emphasize that this was a (Mexican military) operation, so the success is theirs,” the official famous.
During the raid, CJNG members traded hearth with the federal government forces, ensuing in 4 gang members being killed on the scene, the protection ministry stated.
Osegeura and two others have been significantly injured and died as they have been being transported through plane to Mexico City, in response to the ministry.
Three Mexican military personnel have been additionally injured in the operation and transferred to a hospital in Mexico City for remedy.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum lauded the work of the companies concerned in the mission.
Mexico’s numerous state governments are working in “full coordination” to handle the dysfunction, Sheinbaum stated on Sunday, including that “activities are proceeding normally” in a lot of the country.
“We work every day for the peace, security, justice, and well-being of Mexico,” she stated.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency circulated this wished posted for Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. – DEA
Chaos erupts across Mexico
The military operation triggered a collection of violent occasions across the state of Jalisco, which is scheduled to host 4 matches of the 2026 World Cup in June, earlier than spreading to different states such as Michoacán and Guanajuato.
Suspected members of organized crime teams set buses on hearth, blocked roads in the world, and clashed with authorities, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro reported.
Video obtained by NCS confirmed a number of fires burning and plumes of smoke rising across Puerto Vallarta, a resort city common with US vacationers on Mexico’s west coast.
As a results of the violence, Air Canada suspended flights to Puerto Vallarta.
During the operation, Lemus urged residents to stay in their houses and stated that public transportation providers in Jalisco can be suspended “until the situation is under control.”
The governor acknowledged that the violence has unfold to a minimum of 5 states and urged the general public to keep away from touring on highways.
The Michoacán Public Security Secretariat reported that efforts are underway to revive site visitors circulate following the highway blockades.
Meanwhile, the Guanajuato Security and Peace Secretariat reported fires at pharmacies and comfort shops in completely different elements of the state.
“No injuries have been reported, but there has been property damage,” the assertion added, asserting the deployment of a safety operation in coordination with the Army, the National Guard, and municipal police.
The US State Department issued a journey advisory urging US residents to shelter in place in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, and Michoacán because of “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.
Carlos Navarro, 54, a US-Mexico dual citizen, was traveling to visit family in a small town in his home state of Jalisco as the operation unfolded.
While waiting for a connecting bus in Guadalajara, he was informed that the service was canceled due to a bus being set on fire.
Navarro took refuge in a nearby Walmart, where panicked employees permitted him to stay even as an evacuation was underway.
“You hear about it, but it’s very different to hear it on the news than to experience it firsthand,” he instructed NCS, “It’s very difficult because it makes you very sad. It makes you very sad because I love my country.”
National Guards take away pedestrians by the General Prosecutor’s headquarters in Mexico City after the loss of life of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, recognized as “El Mencho.” – Ginette Riquelme/AP
A charred car sits at a broken grocery store in Guadalajara after the loss of life of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. – Alejandra Leyva/AP
Most-wanted individual in Mexico
Oseguera labored for CJNG as it splintered off from the Milenio Cartel, finally rising by means of the ranks to steer the felony enterprise.
Under his management, CJNG expanded its energy and management in Jalisco and the encircling space.
Mexican authorities lengthy sought to apprehend Oseguera for his involvement in the cartel. In 2018, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office offered 30 million pesos ($1.7 million USD) for info resulting in his arrest.
Oseguera was additionally wished by US authorities, who provided a bounty of as much as $15 million for info resulting in his arrest.
The US Justice Department charged Oseguera in 2022 with main the hassle to fabricate and distribute fentanyl for importation into the US.
A Justice Department indictment of Oseguera stated his group is energetic in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima, and Veracruz, and has a presence elsewhere.
In 2025, Oseguera was sanctioned and labeled as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of State.
In a submit on X, US State Department Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau described Oseguera’s loss of life as a “great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.”
He added that he’s watching the chaotic scenes in Mexico “with great sadness and concern.”
A soldier stands guard by a charred car that was set on hearth in Cointzio after the Mexican Army killed cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera. – Armando Solis/AP
Pressure from Trump
Sheinbaum has beforehand solid doubt on the technique of concentrating on cartel kingpins, warning that decapitating felony organizations can fracture them into rival factions and ignite new cycles of violence. Yet safety stays a persistent vulnerability for her administration.
Over the previous yr, Sheinbaum has come beneath intensifying strain from US President Donald Trump, as he threatens military intervention and higher import tariffs if Mexico fails to exhibit concrete positive factors in curbing drug trafficking.
Shortly after the US seize of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump recommended that he may increase his military marketing campaign to Mexican drug trafficking teams.
Sheinbaum has rejected the notion of US strikes in Mexico, characterizing them as a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Instead, she has pursued a direct method to combating organized crime by rising cooperation with US safety companions.
NCS’s Sofía H. Sanchez, Haley Britzky, and Christian Sierra contributed reporting.
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