Mexico is currently facing an escalation of violence in much of the country after the death of El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, 59 years old and known as El Mencho, died while being airlifted to Mexico City by federal forces and after an operation in which the United States was involved.
The operation was carried out in the municipality of Tapalpa, located 130 kilometers south of Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco (west), where there was an armed confrontation between the military and members of the CJNG that left seven members of the Cartel dead, including its own leader, in addition to two detainees and the seizure of weapons, armored vehicles and even rocket launchers, according to the Army.
Canceled flights, suspension of classes and blocked roads
When the scope of the operation was known, the drug traffickers mobilized in different parts of the country and began ‘narcoblockades’ in parts of southern Jalisco, the cradle of the Cartel, with vehicles set on fire and roads blocked. At this point, the state government activated the so-called ‘code red’ and decided to suspend public transportation in several areas, as well as in-person classes.
The decision was transferred to other states such as Michoacán, Colima and Nayarit (west), and later to Guanajuato, Aguascalientes (center), Tamaulipas, Baja California (north), Guerrero and Quintana Roo (south), where blockades, fires to vehicles and businesses – including branches of the government’s Banco del Bienestar – were reported.
In Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco), one of the main tourist destinations in the country, flights were canceled, while throughout the state the governor suspended massive events, including the concert of the American singer Kali Uchis in Guadalajara, one of the host cities of the 2026 World Cup.
So far, at least 16 states have reported blockades and riots, also including Puebla, Querétaro, the State of Mexico (center), Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas (south). In addition to the seven hitmen killed in the operation in Jalisco, four others died in Michoacán, according to Governor Alfredo Ramírez. There are also 22 detainees in Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanajuato, according to official data.
While the Classes have been officially suspended in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacán, Colima, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Baja California and in the Isthmus of Oaxaca region. In the rest of the country, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) did not suspend classes, although it reported that it will not apply absences to students who cannot appear due to “mobility problems” in some regions and faculties.
The alert was extended to the Mexican capital with the transfer at the end of the afternoon of El Mencho’s body from the hangar of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), escorted by federal forces to the forensic services of the agency in Mexico City, where identification tests and official expert reports will be carried out.
Who is El Mencho and why the US wanted to take down the CJNG leader
For her part, President Claudia Sheinbaum called on the population to remain “informed and calm” and recognized the armed forces for the operation that led to the dejection of the CJNG leader. The Mexican Defense confirmed that the operation had “complementary information” from the US, within the “framework of bilateral coordination and cooperation.”
The dejection of the Cartel leader occurs in a context of growing pressure from Washington against the Mexican cartels last year declared as “terrorists.” The United States accused him of leading a “reign of terror” in Mexico and destroying “countless lives” with fentanyl trafficking, and offered up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
“El Mencho was a priority objective for the governments of Mexico and the United States, since he was one of the main traffickers of fentanyl to our country,” said White House spokeswoman Leavitt about the downed leader. Under his command, the CJNG expanded its presence in Mexico and strengthened drug trafficking routes, including fentanyl to the United States, which placed it among the most wanted drug traffickers in both countries.
Oseguera, born in 1966, led a criminal group that emerged in 2007 under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel, but later became independent and became one of the most important in the country. He was born in Naranjo de Chila, in the municipality of Aguililla, Michoacán, and emigrated to the United States. Upon his return he collaborated with Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias ‘Nacho Coronel’ and after his death he founded the CJNG together with Erik Valencia Salazar. Oseguera became the most powerful boss in Mexico after the capture of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias ‘El Chapo’.
The version of the Government of Mexico: the military were attacked and responded
Oseguera’s death occurred in Tapalpa, in the state of Jalisco, as reported by the Mexican Ministry of Defense, which maintains that the Army’s special forces carried out an operation involving several aircraft that had the objective of arresting Oseguera.
The soldiers were attacked and responded, resulting in four members of the CJNG dying and three more being seriously injured, who lost their lives during their transfer by air to Mexico City. Among them is alias ‘Mencho’, according to the Defense statement, which has confirmed the arrest of two other members of the group and the seizure of weapons and armored vehicles.
Embassies alert their citizens about violence: Spain advises “extreme caution”
The embassies of the United States, Canada, Argentina, Germany, France, Poland and Russia, among others, issued security alerts for their citizens in Mexico due to the blockades and violent events recorded in several states of the country.
The United States Embassy, for example, asked its citizens to remain at home in large areas, including Jalisco, Baja California, Quintana Roo and areas of Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. It also ordered its diplomatic staff in Tijuana, Guerrero, Michoacán and Quintana Roo to remain at home, and warned of impacts to flights and suspension of transportation services in Puerto Vallarta.
On the other hand, the Spanish Embassy in Mexico advised “extreme caution” in the face of the blockades and violent events recorded in several states of the country, after the death of capo Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in a military operation. “At this time, different sources of tension remain in the country, especially in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Nayarit, Colima, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and Guanajuato,” the Spanish embassy indicated in a message on social networks. These states are located in central and on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The Spanish consulate in Guadalajara, one of the most affected cities, indicated that “the recommendations to remain in homes or protected places and limit all non-essential travel are maintained.”
