What to know about the killing of the powerful cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ in Mexico
What to know about the killing of the powerful cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ in Mexico
This wanted poster released on Dec. 42024 on the U.S. State Department website shows leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (U.S. State Department via AP)
A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle that was set on fire in CointzioMexicoSundayFeb. 222026amid reports the Mexican Army killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Osegueraknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum looks at a slide with information about Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho,” during her the dailymorning news conference at the National Palace in Mexico CityMondayFeb. 232026the day after the Mexican army killed the cartel leader. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
A charred vehicle sits at a damaged supermarket in GuadalajaraJalisco stateMexicoSundayFeb. 222026after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
The letters “CJNG” for the group’s formal nameJalisco New Generation Cartelcovers the facade of an abandoned home in El Limoncitoin the Michoacan state of MexicoOct. 302021. (AP Photo/Eduardo VerdugoFile)
This wanted poster released on Dec. 42024 on the U.S. State Department website shows leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (U.S. State Department via AP)
This wanted poster released on Dec. 42024 on the U.S. State Department website shows leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (U.S. State Department via AP)
A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle that was set on fire in CointzioMexicoSundayFeb. 222026amid reports the Mexican Army killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Osegueraknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle that was set on fire in CointzioMexicoSundayFeb. 222026amid reports the Mexican Army killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Osegueraknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum looks at a slide with information about Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho,” during her the dailymorning news conference at the National Palace in Mexico CityMondayFeb. 232026the day after the Mexican army killed the cartel leader. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum looks at a slide with information about Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho,” during her the dailymorning news conference at the National Palace in Mexico CityMondayFeb. 232026the day after the Mexican army killed the cartel leader. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
A charred vehicle sits at a damaged supermarket in GuadalajaraJalisco stateMexicoSundayFeb. 222026after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
A charred vehicle sits at a damaged supermarket in GuadalajaraJalisco stateMexicoSundayFeb. 222026after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantesknown as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
The letters “CJNG” for the group’s formal nameJalisco New Generation Cartelcovers the facade of an abandoned home in El Limoncitoin the Michoacan state of MexicoOct. 302021. (AP Photo/Eduardo VerdugoFile)
The letters “CJNG” for the group’s formal nameJalisco New Generation Cartelcovers the facade of an abandoned home in El Limoncitoin the Michoacan state of MexicoOct. 302021. (AP Photo/Eduardo VerdugoFile)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful cartel leader and one of the United States’ most wanted fugitivesnotching a major victory while cartel members responded with a wave of violence across the country.
The killing Sunday of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes during an attempt to capture him in Jalisco state was the highest-profile blow against cartels since the recapture of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán a decade ago.
Following Oseguera Cervantes’ deathsecurity forces were placed on alert throughout the country as gunmen unleashed violence. Cars torched by cartel members blocked roads in 20 Mexican states. People locked themselves in their homes in GuadalajaraMexico’s second-largest city and Jalisco’s capitaland school was canceled Monday in several states.
The killing could give the government a leg up in its dealings with the Trump administrationwhich has been threatening tariffs or unilateral military action if Mexico does not show results in the fight against the cartels. But the long-term effect on Mexico’s security landscape remains unclear.
Here’s what to know:
‘El Mencho’ was the leader of a fast-growing criminal group
Oseguera Cervantesbetter known as “El Mencho,” was 59 years old and originally from the western state of Michoacan. His ties to organized crime went back at least three decades.
In 1994he was tried for trafficking heroin in the U.S. and sent to prison for three years. Upon returning to Mexicohe quickly rose through Mexico’s drug trafficking underworld.
Around 2009he founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartelwhich became Mexico’s fastest-growing criminal organizationmoving cocainemethamphetaminesfentanyl and migrants to the United Statesand using violence with the use of drones and improvised explosive devices.
The cartel earned a reputation for brazen attacks on Mexican security forcesincluding downing a military helicopter in Jalisco in 2015 and attempting a spectacularbut unsuccessfulassassination of Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuchwho is now Mexico’s federal security secretary.
It recruited aggressivelyexperimenting with new ways to reach potential members onlineand generated revenue through fuel theftextortion and timeshare fraudamong other activities.
Oseguera Cervantes died in a battle with troops sent to capture him
Oseguera Cervantes was killed during an attempt to capture himas his followers attempted to fight off Mexican troops.
Mexico’s Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said Monday that the army and National Guard launched an operation in the southern part of Jalisco state to capture Oseguera Cervantesinvolving the Mexican air force and special forces. Intelligence gathered about one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners led them to his hideouthe said.
The cartel counterattackedand in the ensuing confrontationfederal forces killed eight members of the criminal group. Oseguera Cervantes and two of his bodyguards were wounded and died later during transfer by air to Mexico CityTrevilla said.
Rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft and destroying armored vehicles were seized at the scene.
Mexico is keen to show Trump results in the fight against cartels
Oseguera Cervantes’ death will help Mexico’s government show results to the U.S.which is pressuring its neighbor to pursue drug cartels more aggressively. Both countries said intelligence cooperation helped lead to Sunday’s operation.
Oseguera Cervantes was facing multiple indictments in the United States and the U.S. State Department had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. The Trump administration designated his cartel and others foreign terrorist organizations a year ago.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landauwho was U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the first Trump administrationapplauded the operation via Xwriting: “The good guys are stronger than the bad guys. Congratulations to the forces of law and order in the great Mexican nation.”
Mike Vigilformer chief of international operations for the DEAsaid Mexico had sent “a strong message to Donald Trump’s administration that they are fighting aggressively and effectively” against the most powerful cartels. He added that “the majority of the information came from the Mexican armed forces and all credit goes to Mexico.”
Cartel leader’s death leaves a power vacuum
It’s not clear who will succeed Oseguera Cervantesor if any one person can.
The Jalisco cartel has a presence in at least 21 of Mexico’s 32 states and is active in almost all of the United Statesaccording to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. But it is also a global organization and the loss of its leader could be felt well beyond Mexico.
“El Mencho controlled everythinghe was like a country’s dictator,” Vigil said.
His absence could slow the cartel’s rapid growth and expansion and leave it initially weakened against the Sinaloa cartel on several fronts where they or their proxies are fighting. The Sinaloa is locked in its own internal power strugglehoweverbetween the sons of “El Chapo” and the faction loyal to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambadawho is in U.S. custody.
Vigil said Mexico should seize the moment to launch “an effective frontal assault based on intelligence.”
“This is a big opportunity for Mexico and the United States if they work together,” he said.
Security analyst David Saucedo said that if relatives of Oseguera Cervantes take control of the cartelthe violence seen Sunday could continue. If others take powerthey could be more willing to turn the page and continue operations.
The greatest fear would be that the cartel turns to indiscriminate violence. They could decide to “launch narcoterrorism attacks ... and generate a scenario similar to what Colombia lived in the 1990s,” a full-on attack against the government “car bombsassassinations and attacks on aircraft.”
