Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, the most wanted drug trafficker in Mexico and head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, has been killed in a federal operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco.
In an operation in the mountains of the State of Jalisco, where drug traffickers have roamed freely for decades protected by their criminal forces, the Mexican security forces have put an end to ‘the head’ of one of the most lethal criminal organizations in the country.
The fall of the leader of the Jalisco Cartel not only puts an end to the life of one of the most dangerous criminals on the continent, it also changes the face of drug trafficking in Mexico, after the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The immediate response of the CJNG
The death of “El Mencho” has unleashed a wave of violence coordinated by cartel cells. Narcoblockades, burning of vehicles and confrontations were recorded in Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato and Aguascalientes. In Jalisco, the government activated the “red code” to protect the population, while Governor Pablo Lemús coordinates actions to restore normality.
The Embassies of the United States and Canada have issued security alerts recommending their citizens remain at home, while federal authorities deploy operations to contain the wave of violence and monitor any succession struggle within the CJNG. So far, no additional casualties have been reported among federal forces, although incidents continue to expand.
A life marked by crime
From his birth in Michoacán, Oseguera built an empire of violence and power that extended to more than ten states and, according to intelligence reports, even abroad.
Before being feared as head of the CJNG, “El Mencho” had a life marked by contact with the law and crime. Arrested in the United States for heroin trafficking in 1992, he worked as a police officer in Tomatlán and later forged alliances with groups such as Los Cuinis and Los Torcidos, finally founding his own cartel. Under his command, the CJNG became a drug trafficking giant, known for its extreme violence and firepower, as well as controlling fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine routes to the United States.
