El Mencho killed in military raid as cartel violence sweeps across Mexico

Mexico has been gripped by a wave of violence following the killing of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the feared cartel leader better known as “El Mencho”, during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco.

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, headed the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or Jalisco New Generation Cartel, widely regarded as one of the most aggressive and expansive criminal organisations in the country. He was fatally wounded in a raid in Tapalpa on 22 February and died while being transferred to Mexico City, authorities said.

The operation, reportedly supported by US intelligence, has been described by officials as one of the most significant blows against organised crime in recent years. The US State Department had previously offered a $15m (£12m) reward for information leading to his capture, and the cartel had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation by Washington.

President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm, calling the operation a major step in the government’s campaign against drug trafficking groups. More than 50 arrests were reported in Guanajuato alone, and security forces said they had seized heavy weaponry, including armoured vehicles and rocket launchers.

Arson, roadblocks and clashes

In the hours following confirmation of El Mencho’s death, suspected cartel affiliates torched vehicles, set fire to supermarkets and banks, and erected roadblocks across nearly a dozen states. The unrest spread through Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Colima, Tamaulipas, Aguascalientes, Puebla and Yucatán, with incidents also reported in Mexico City and surrounding areas.

In Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco and one of the host cities for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, masked gunmen were reported to have set fire to shops. Residents sheltered indoors as smoke rose over parts of the city and schools suspended classes. In the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, tourists reported plumes of smoke visible from hotel zones as authorities urged people to remain inside.

Security personnel were killed in clashes in Tapalpa, Zapopan, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, according to local reports, while several सैनिक were injured. Cartel gunmen also destroyed sections of roadway in a tactic commonly used to impede military movements.

The violence extended to neighbouring Michoacán, El Mencho’s home state, where the cartel maintains a strong presence.

Foreign governments moved quickly to warn their nationals. The United States and Canada issued shelter-in-place advisories for parts of western Mexico. Airlines including United Airlines, Air Canada and Aeromexico cancelled flights to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta amid the unrest.

The Indian Embassy also advised Indian nationals in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero and Nuevo León states to remain indoors until further notice.

Domestic sport was affected as well. Matches in the seventh round of the Clausura tournament of Liga MX were suspended, along with several women’s league fixtures and an international friendly between Mexico and Iceland.

A meteoric and violent rise

Born in 1966 in rural Michoacán, a region long associated with both avocado farming and illicit crop cultivation, Oseguera Cervantes rose from modest beginnings to become one of Mexico’s most wanted men.

He spent time in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, where he was convicted on drug-related charges and later deported. Upon returning to Mexico, he joined the Milenio Cartel, once aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, before eventually establishing the CJNG as a dominant and notoriously ruthless force.

Under his leadership, the cartel expanded rapidly through aggressive tactics, diversifying into fentanyl trafficking and building an international footprint.

Uncertain aftermath

While the Mexican government is likely to present the killing as a decisive victory, analysts caution that removing a cartel leader does not necessarily dismantle the organisation. Such groups often have senior lieutenants ready to assume control, raising questions about who will succeed El Mencho and whether internal rivalries could intensify violence further.

For President Sheinbaum, the operation underscores cooperation with Washington at a time when US President Donald Trump has pressed Mexico to curb fentanyl flows and organised crime. It may also ease pressure from US political figures who have previously floated the prospect of unilateral American military action on Mexican soil.

In the coming days, the scale and persistence of cartel retaliation — and the state’s response — will determine whether the unrest subsides or marks the beginning of a more prolonged and destabilising confrontation.

With agency inputs