Emily Green and Lizbeth Diaz
Updated ,first published
Mexico City: A major Mexican drug lord known as “El Mencho” has been killed in a military raid, Mexican officials said on Sunday, as the country’s government has been ramping up pressure on cartels after US intervention threats.
Mexico’s Defence Ministry said a shootout in the western state of Jalisco left Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, commonly known as El Mencho, seriously injured, and he died during an air transfer to Mexico City. The ministry noted that US authorities had provided “complementary information”.
The operation set off a wave of violence, with cartel gunmen blocking highways and starting fires in more than half a dozen states.
Criminal groups burned cars and trucks to stop traffic in different areas of Jalisco, according to local outlets Reforma and Milenio. Residents in the major regional city of Guadalajara shared videos of armed groups shooting car tyres to block intersections, and the blockades spread to other states, such as Michoacan and Guanajuato.
The US State Department issued a “shelter in place” alert for US citizens in the affected areas, including Jalisco state, home to Guadalajara and the tourist hub of Puerto Vallarta. The alert also includes areas in the states of Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon.
Americans are advised to avoid areas around law enforcement activity and crowds, keep family and friends advised of their locations, monitor local updates, and seek shelter and minimise unnecessary movements.
Jalisco state Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro urged people to stay at home until the situation was brought under control.
Air Canada said it had temporarily suspended operations to Puerto Vallarta, while United Airlines and American Airlines said they have cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.
Military operation
During the operation against Oseguera Cervantes, troops came under fire and killed four people at the scene, the Mexican Defence Ministry said.
Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested, and armoured vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized.
Three members of the armed forces were wounded and are receiving medical treatment.
A Jalisco state official speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to speak publicly said a member of the National Guard died in Tapalpa during the operation, and six other National Guard members died in Zapopan, just outside Guadalajara.
A prison guard was killed at a lock-up in Puerto Vallarta when prisoners rioted, and an agent from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office was killed in Guadalajara, the official said. Details were not immediately available.
The US embassy in Mexico said on X that the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces “within the framework of bilateral co-operation, with US authorities providing complementary intelligence”.
The operation against Oseguera Cervantes follows pressure from the Trump administration on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government to crack down harder on drug trafficking, including US threats to intervene directly in Mexico.
“Ever since President (Claudia) Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” said David Mora, analyst for International Crisis Group in Mexico.
“This is signalling to the US that if we keep co-operating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don’t need US troops on Mexican soil.”
Shadowy leader
An ex-police officer, Oseguera Cervantes was the shadowy leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), an outfit named after the western state and home to one of Mexico’s biggest cities, Guadalajara.
Over a relatively short period of time, the CJNG morphed into an international criminal enterprise to rival former allies in the Sinaloa Cartel, the gang of captured kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, now in a US prison.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Oseguera Cervantes’ killing was a “great development” for the US and Mexico, as well as the rest of Latin America.
International organised crime expert Vanda Felbab-Brown compared Oseguera Cervantes to other key drug figures taken down in recent years, Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, both of the rival Sinaloa Cartel.
“Apart from the heads of the Sinaloa Cartel, ‘El Mencho’ has been the biggest prize for many, many years.”
Reuters, Bloomberg
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