Violence rocks Mexico after military kills cartel kingpin

Mexico City: Notorious Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho”, was killed in a military raid on Sunday (Mexican time), decapitating one of the country’s most powerful cartels and sparking widespread retaliatory violence.

Mexican 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 United States.

Oseguera, 60, the mastermind of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (known by its Spanish initials 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 body arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon in a heavily guarded convoy of National Guard troops.

The White House confirmed that the US provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’s army for taking down a man who was one of the most wanted criminals in both countries.

After reports of Oseguera’s death, cartel henchmen blockaded roads with burning cars at more than 250 points in 20 Mexican states and torched businesses in at least six states, paralysing parts of the country. Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, was turned into a ghost town Sunday night as civilians hunkered down and school was cancelled on Monday in several states.

Sheinbaum urged calm on Monday and authorities said all of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states had been cleared.

In the state of Jalisco, 25 members of the National Guard were killed in six separate attacks after El Mencho’s capture, Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on Monday. Deaths were also reported in the states of Michoacan and Guanajuato.

Local and foreign governments alike warned their citizens to stay inside.

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.

Passengers arriving at the city’s international airport on Sunday night were told it was operating with limited personnel because of the burst of violence. 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 his 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.

In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation and the US State Department had offered a reward of up to $US15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho.

Sunday’s raid was one of Mexico’s highest-profile blows against drug gangs responsible for smuggling billions of dollars of drugs – including fentanyl – into the US.

During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera, were wounded and later died, the authorities’ 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.

In recent years, the leaders of the rival Sinaloa cartel – Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada – were captured alive. Both are now in American prisons.

US President Donald Trump’s administration lauded Oseguera’s killing, but the violence it triggered across Mexico highlighted the political balancing act Sheinbaum must strike as her government escalates its offensive against cartels.

Reuters reported on Sunday that a new US-military-led taskforce 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 co-operation and successful execution of this operation”.

Security experts are watching whether the raid and the cartel boss’s death will fracture CJNG leadership and trigger bloody infighting.

“There will definitely be skirmishes between the various factions, and these spasms of violence could last for years,” said Carlos Olivo, a former US Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge and an expert in CJNG.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, previously the American ambassador to Mexico, said Oseguera’s killing was a “great development” for the US and Mexico, as well as the rest of Latin America.

In January, after the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump said “the cartels are running Mexico” and warned “we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels”.

Sheinbaum said she would strengthen efforts to co-operate with the US to fight cartels, but vowed to uphold Mexico’s sovereignty and warned against any unilateral military action by the US in Mexico.

In a social media post on Sunday, Sheinbaum said security officials would provide information on the operation.

Reuters, AP

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