“El Mencho” killed in high-stakes operation
February 24 2026
Mexican security forces have killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) one of the most powerful and violent criminal organisations in the world in a major military operation that has ignited widespread unrest across the country.
Authorities said special forces, backed by aerial support and crucial intelligence from the United States, tracked Oseguera Cervantes to a hideout near Tapalpa in the western state of Jalisco, a CJNG stronghold, where they attempted to bring him into custody late Sunday.
The 59-year-old cartel boss was wounded in a firefight and died while being airlifted to Mexico City, the Defence Ministry confirmed.
The operation also left multiple cartel gunmen dead and government forces wounded, and authorities seized rocket launchers, armoured vehicles and other heavy weapons at the scene.
The killing of El Mencho once the subject of a $15 million U.S. reward for information leading to his capture triggered a rapid surge of violence. CJNG loyalists torched vehicles, set up roadblocks and engaged in clashes with security forces in more than 250 locations across at least 20 of Mexico’s 32 states, according to the national Security Cabinet.
Authorities also suspended flight operations in some regions, issued shelter-in-place advisories in tourism centres such as Puerto Vallarta, and mobilised tens of thousands of soldiers and National Guard personnel to regain control of key urban corridors.
Officials reported significant casualties in the days following the takedown: dozens killed, including members of Mexico’s National Guard and cartel fighters, with civilians also caught in the violence as clashes spread beyond Jalisco.
Some international governments issued travel advisories for their citizens as a precaution amid the unrest.
El Mencho, who began building the CJNG in the early 2000s and rose to infamy by mastering fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine trafficking into the United States, was considered one of the most wanted drug lords on the planet. His organisation was known not only for its expansive drug networks but also for brutal attacks against rivals and state forces.
The U.S. Government and Mexican authorities have celebrated the operation as a significant blow to transnational organised crime. Yet experts warn that the collapse of a cartel leader’s command structure does not guarantee an end to violence power vacuums can fuel internal strife or the rise of equally ruthless successors.
