Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of the most wanted drug lords in Mexico and the United States, died this Sunday in a confrontation with the Army, unleashing a wave of violence.
In an operation led by the Mexican Army, the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as ‘El Mencho’, was confirmed this Sunday. The founder and top leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was killed in the state of Jalisco, closing one of the most violent chapters in Mexico’s criminal history.
Federal sources and Mexican media confirmed the death following an operation in the Tapalpa area. The news was also preliminarily confirmed by a federal official to The Associated Press, under strict anonymity.
The drug lord’s downfall sparked an immediate and aggressive response from his subordinates. Roadblocks and burning vehicles have been reported at various strategic points in the states of Jalisco and Michoacán.
Under Oseguera Cervantes’ command, the CJNG ceased to be a local organization and transformed into an international organized crime empire.
The U.S. State Department maintained a $15 million reward on him, identifying him as responsible for the mass production and trafficking of methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, and for territorial expansion through extortion, corruption, and extreme violence.
Even internal wars that destabilized multiple regions of Mexico since 2009.
Although the cartel’s structure has suffered its biggest blow, security in Mexico remains in a critical situation.
The Public Security Secretariat continues with field operations to capture other key targets and prevent violence from escalating after the power vacuum left by ‘El Mencho’.
Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the city of Puerto Vallarta, a major city in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic.
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organisations in Mexico.
In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation.
It has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military—including helicopters—and a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now head of federal security.
The DEA considers this cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 US states where it distributes tons of drugs. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the US market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines.
