MEXICO CITY
One of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, Nemesio Oseguera, or “El Mencho,” was killed in a military raid on Sunday, sparking widespread retaliatory violence. President Claudia Sheinbaum has been under mounting pressure from Washington to intensify her offensive against drug cartels blamed for producing and smuggling drugs, particularly the synthetic opioid fentanyl, across the border to the US.
Oseguera, 60, the mastermind of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) died in custody after being injured in a military operation by Mexican special forces in the town of Tapalpa on Mexico’s Pacific coast in Jalisco state, according to Mexico’s defence ministry. His corpse arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon in a heavily guarded convoy of National Guard troops.
Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, appears in undated photographs in a wanted poster on the US Department of State website with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest.
Reuters Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho, appears in undated photographs in a wanted poster on the US Department of State website with a $15 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest. — Reuters
Reuters had reported on Sunday that a new US-military-led task force played a role in the raid led and carried out by Mexican forces. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later posted on social media that the US provided intelligence support. Leavitt added that the Trump administration “commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation.”
After reports of El Mencho’s death, cartel henchmen blockaded highways with burning cars and torched businesses in more than half a dozen states, paralysing parts of the country. No civilian deaths have been reported. In Jalisco’s popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, frightened tourists on social media described a “war zone” as plumes of dark smoke rose into the sky from around the bay. Air Canada, United Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines suspended flights in the area. Former cop to cartel kingpin Oseguera, a former police officer, founded and oversaw the rapid rise of the CJNG, named for the western state of Jalisco that is home to one of Mexico’s biggest cities, Guadalajara.
In recent years, CJNG has expanded into one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, known for violent tactics including forced labour and forced recruitment. Under El Mencho’s leadership, CJNG also became a highly diversified criminal enterprise, expanding from drug trafficking to fuel theft, extortion, human smuggling, and complex financial fraud. The cartel pioneered the use of drones in attacks against civilians in remote regions of western Mexico as part of its rapid territorial expansion.
