Mexico City (NCS) — 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 wished traffickers, died following a Mexican military operation Sunday, handing the country a consequential victory as it appears to be like 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 across 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.
During the operation, CJNG members traded hearth with the federal government forces, ensuing in 4 gang members being killed on the scene, Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense stated.
Osegeura and two others had been significantly injured and died as they had been being transported through plane to Mexico City, in response to the secretariat.
Three Mexican military personnel had been additionally injured in the operation and transferred to a hospital in Mexico City for therapy.
The secretariat stated that US authorities supplied “complementary information” that supported the operation.
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 preferred US vacationer vacation spot 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 properties and stated that public transportation companies in Jalisco can be suspended “until the situation is under control.”
The governor acknowledged that the violence has unfold to not less than 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 visitors movement following the street blockades.
Meanwhile, the Guanajuato Security and Peace Secretariat reported fires at pharmacies and comfort shops in completely different components of the state.
“No injuries have been reported, but there has been property damage,” the assertion added, saying 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 attributable to “ongoing safety operations and associated street blockages and legal exercise.
Most wished individual in Mexico
Oseguera labored for CJNG as it splintered off from the Milenio Cartel, ultimately rising via the ranks to guide the legal 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 data resulting in his arrest.
Oseguera was additionally wished by US authorities, who provided a bounty of as much as $15 million for data resulting in his arrest.
The US Justice Department charged Oseguera in 2022 with main the trouble 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 categorized as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of State.
In a put up 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.”
Pressure from Trump
US President Donald Trump has intensified strain on Mexico to crack down on organized crime with threats of military intervention and higher import tariffs.
Shortly after the US seize of ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump steered that he might broaden his military marketing campaign to Mexican drug trafficking teams.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected the notion of US strikes in Mexico, characterizing them as a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Sheinbaum has pursued a direct method to combating organized crime by rising cooperation with US safety companions.
This is a growing story and shall be up to date.
The-NCS-Wire
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NCS’s Christian Sierra in Washington contributed reporting.