El Chapo threat resurfaces as federal sources say El Mencho killed in Jalisco operation
Federal Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, was killed on Sunday, 22 de febrero de 2026, in Tapalpa, Jalisco, a development that recalls a 2016 episode in which Joaquín el chapo Guzmán threatened to surrender a rival leader’s son in response to the kidnapping of his own heirs.
El Chapo’s 2016 threat after Chapitos’ kidnapping
In August 2016 a commando burst into the restaurant La Leche in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, and abducted six men, among them Jesús Alfredo and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán — known as Los Chapitos — an event that left at least 16 escoltas outmatched by a force described as cerca de 50 hombres. A rival faction intended to kill them, one participant said: “Los levantaron para matarlos. Esa era la consigna. No era por dinero, no era por un susto, era para matarlos. ”
From prison, Joaquín Guzmán Loera — el chapo — moved his influence to pressure his enemies by securing the detention of Menchito, the son of El Mencho, and transmitting a direct message: “A como tú me entregues a mis hijos, yo te entrego al tuyo. ” The interference of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada helped mediate a release and prevent a massacre that might have ignited a wider war between Sinaloa and Jalisco.
Federal forces say El Mencho killed in Tapalpa operation
Federal sources confirmed the death of Oseguera Cervantes during a security operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, on 22 de febrero de 2026; preliminary versions circulated extra-officially said an alleged evasion followed the operation, but Mexican authorities have not issued an official statement about a capture or escape. The clashes left a string of confrontations and blockades across Jalisco during the day.
Images and videos shared on social networks showed vehicles burned, detonations and heavy troop movements in multiple locations of Jalisco, illustrating the intensity of the action around Tapalpa. Internationally, the CJNG had been designated as an Organizacion Terrorista Extranjera under a decree from the administration of Donald Trump, and the DEA kept Oseguera Cervantes on its list of most-wanted fugitives with a Department of State reward of up to 15 million dollars.
Both the 2016 kidnapping in Puerto Vallarta and the operation in Tapalpa are concrete markers of the long-running clash between the Sinaloa and Jalisco organizations: the 2016 seizure consolidated Los Chapitos as an autonomous cell inside the Sinaloa structure, and the Feb. 22, 2026 action represents a major strike against the CJNG leadership.
Security operations and confrontations in Jalisco continue while authorities have not released an official statement on the outcome of the Tapalpa operation; federal sources have confirmed the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes as of 22 de febrero de 2026.
