Mexico’s most wanted, El Mencho, killed in military operation

Mexico’s most wanted crime figure, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, widely known as El Mencho, has been killed following a major military operation in Jalisco state, according to the country’s defence ministry. He was 59.

The cartel leader, who headed the feared Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was reportedly fatally wounded during fierce clashes between his armed supporters and Mexican special forces in the town of Tapalpa. Authorities said he died on Sunday while being transported under heavy security to Mexico City after sustaining serious injuries.

Four suspected CJNG members were killed in the confrontation, while three soldiers were injured. Officials described the raid as carefully planned and executed, involving elite troops backed by aircraft from the Mexican Air Force and the National Guard. Armoured vehicles and a cache of high-powered weapons, including rocket launchers, were seized at the scene.

The United States reportedly provided intelligence that helped Mexican authorities track and move against the cartel chief. Washington had previously placed a $15 million bounty on him.

Shortly after news of the operation broke, the CJNG launched coordinated retaliatory attacks across at least eight states. Gunmen torched vehicles, blocked highways and clashed with security forces. Thick smoke was seen rising over parts of Guadalajara, one of the host cities for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

In the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, thousands of tourists were left stranded as violence disrupted transportation networks. Public transport services were suspended in Jalisco under a “code red” alert issued by state authorities, while several flights by major North American airlines were cancelled or diverted.

The U.S. State Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory for American citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, and parts of Michoacán, Guerrero and Nuevo León.

President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm, assuring citizens that daily life continued as normal in most parts of the country despite the unrest.

A former police officer, Oseguera Cervantes transformed the CJNG into one of Mexico’s most powerful and ruthless criminal organisations. Founded in 2010 in Jalisco, the cartel became a dominant trafficker of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States, generating billions of dollars and expanding its reach across much of Mexico.

The CJNG earned notoriety for brazen attacks on security forces and public officials, including the downing of a military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade and high-profile assassinations meant to intimidate rivals and authorities. U.S. officials have long identified the cartel as a major supplier of fentanyl to the American market, with thousands of pounds seized along the south-west border since late 2024.

Security analysts say El Mencho’s death marks one of the most significant blows against organised crime in modern Mexican history and could bolster Sheinbaum’s anti-cartel campaign, as well as deepen cooperation with the United States.

However, authorities now face the immediate challenge of containing violent reprisals, amid fears that instability could intensify following the fall of one of the world’s most powerful drug kingpins.