Tryst with a lover brought down Mexico’s most wanted man, sparking a firestorm of violence

Mexico City: A visit from a “romantic partner” led to the downfall of Mexico’s most-wanted kingpin Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho”, Mexican authorities said as the country’s security forces continue to combat cartel gunmen across the state of Jalisco.

Mexico and the United States had spent years tracking “El Mencho,” who faced numerous outstanding arrest warrants for organised crime and drug trafficking in both countries. This time, however, the intelligence efforts proved successful. Investigators identified and began following a trusted associate of one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners.

This individual escorted the woman to Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Friday for a meeting with the drug lord. The exact location of the meeting was double-checked by US intelligence, which then passed it on to Mexican authorities.

Once the woman left after spending the night with “El Mencho,” special forces finalised their plans, having confirmed he was staying in the area with a security detail.

Who was El Mencho?

Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most-wanted cartel leader, was the mastermind of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The US had offered a $US15 million ($21 million) reward for information leading to his arrest.

A former policeman, he was 59 years old at the time of his death with ties to organised crime going back at least three decades. In 1994, he was tried for trafficking heroin in the US and sent to prison for three years. Upon returning to Mexico, he quickly rose through Mexico’s drug trafficking underworld.

Around 2009, he founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which became Mexico’s fastest-growing criminal organisation, moving cocaine, methamphetamines, fentanyl and migrants to the United States, and using violence with the use of drones and improvised explosive devices.

The cartel has a well-earned reputation for brazen attacks on Mexican security forces. In 2015, it downed a military helicopter in Jalisco and in 2020, the cartel narrowly failed to assassinate Mexico City Police Chief Omar Garcia Harfuch. It recruited aggressively, experimenting with new ways to reach potential members online, and generated revenue through fuel theft, extortion and timeshare fraud, among other activities.

How was he killed?

Oseguera Cervantes died in a helicopter after being injured in a military operation by Mexican special forces in a wooded area outside the town of Tapalpa, according to Mexico’s Defence Ministry.

Defence Minister Ricardo Trevilla said information from a confidante of one of Oseguera’s romantic partners helped officials quickly plan the raid for the following day at the crime boss’s compound.

During the raid, Oseguera Cervantes’ gunmen opened fire on security forces, and the conflict moved to a cabin complex in a wooded area, where he was injured along with two of his bodyguards. The three were transported by helicopter to Mexico City but did not survive.

Authorities said they found rifles with grenade launchers, rocket launchers and mortar shells at the site. Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said it was carrying out necessary proceedings across 14 states – nearly half of the country.

The Mexican government has acknowledged that US intelligence was used to help pinpoint the exact location of the Tapalpa compound, but underscored that the military operations had been led by the Mexican army.

“There was no participation in this operation of US forces. What there was, was an exchange of information,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

Why has there been backlash to El Mencho’s death?

The capture and death of Oseguera Cervantes has sparked a firestorm of violence across Jalisco and other parts of the country and poses a stern test to the Mexican government and its ability to contain the powerful and influential drug cartels.

The military operations prompted a swift response from the cartel, with members blocking roads and burning cars. Mexico’s Defence Ministry said the attacks in Jalisco were masterminded by Oseguera’s right-hand man and top financial chief known as “El Tuli”, who was also killed in a clash with security forces while they attempted to arrest him.

“El Tuli” had reportedly offered gunmen a bounty of 20,000 pesos — over $US1,000 — for every soldier killed, according to Mexican authorities.

More than 70 people, including 25 members of the Mexican National Guard, have so far died in the operation to capture the drug lord, with 9,500 troops now deployed to quell the unrest, which has spread beyond the state of Jalisco.

Cartel fighters, who erected more than 250 roadblocks across 20 states and set fire to vehicles, are still squaring off against heavily armed Mexican security forces.

Mexican authorities have reported that 25 members of the Mexican National Guard were killed in six separate attacks, while some 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco, and four others in the neighbouring state of Michoacán. Also killed were a prison guard and an agent from the state prosecutor’s office.

As the threat of more violence looms, several Mexican states cancelled school Monday, while local and foreign governments warned their citizens to stay inside.

No foreigners were reported harmed, Mexico’s government said in a statement.

What are the cartels in Mexico, and where does CJNG fit in?

Oseguera Cervantes’ death deals a major blow to the CJNG cartel, believed to be a major supplier of fentanyl to the US. The cartel started its operation as an offshoot of the Sinaloa Cartel, once led by kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was extradited to the US in 2017.

Drug cultivation in the border regions of Mexico started in the late 19th century, and by 1960s these regions became a major supplier of cannabis and heroin into the US. The first cartel of note was the Guadalajara Cartel, which was founded in the late 1970s and is credited with creating the first organised operations of transporting narcotics into the US market.

The cartel activities put it on the radar of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and its subsequent kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, led to its downfall. The crackdown from the Mexican government splintered the Guadalajara cartel and led to smaller offshoots - Sinaloa, Zetas, Gulf and Tijuana - setting up operations.

CJNG came into the picture in the mid-2000s, firstly as enforcers for the Sinaloa Cartel against its rivals. However, it separated from the cartel in 2014 and went to war with every major cartel in Mexico, including the ones it used to work with.

The CJNG built a fearsome reputation with calculated use of extreme violence, including torture, beheadings, and public display of the bodies of rival gang members, informants and members of the police.

It is active across all of Mexico and apart from drug trafficking, is also engaged in people smuggling and extortion.

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.

While Washington has pushed Mexico for more action on drug trafficking, Mexican authorities have also long called on the US to do more to limit the illegal sales of firearms that bolster the vast arsenals of cartels that operate inside its territory.

According to American government data, some 70 per cent of illegal weapons traced in Mexico came from the US.

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.

With staff reporter, AP and Reuters

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.