El Mencho killed in Mexican security operation as violence spreads across states
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, was killed on Sunday during a security operation to arrest him, the defence ministry said, setting off weeks of unrest as his cartel struck back across multiple states.
Operation in Tapalpa left cartel leader fatally wounded
The defence ministry said special forces planned and executed the operation that targeted El Mencho in the western state of Jalisco. He was seriously injured in clashes between his supporters and the army and died while being taken to Mexico City. The ministry described the move as an arrest operation that turned lethal in the field.
Conflicting casualty tallies and arrests
The ministry said El Mencho was killed along with at least six alleged accomplices. Another account in the provided context said four cartel members were killed at the scene in Tapalpa and that another three died while being flown to Mexico City, among them El Mencho. Three army personnel were injured and were transported to the capital for treatment. Two alleged cartel members were arrested with weapons that included rocket launchers. Several armoured vehicles and weapons, including rocket launchers, were seized, and aircraft from the Mexican Air Force and the National Guard were deployed.
How the raid was supported and who assisted
The United States provided information that assisted the operation, and the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel, which specializes in intelligence collection on drug cartels, played a role in the military raid. A $15m (£11. 1m) reward had been offered for information leading to El Mencho's capture. El Mencho, a 59-year-old former police officer, ran the Jalisco New Generation cartel, an organisation accused of trafficking huge quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US and of attempting to assassinate Mexican government officials.
Violence erupted across states after the killing
Cartel retaliation included setting cars alight, building roadblocks and attacking security forces in eight states. Torched vehicles and gunmen blocking highways were reported in more than half a dozen states, and vehicles were burned in various states while federal troops stood guard outside the General Prosecutor's headquarters in Mexico City. A burning bus that appears to have been used as a roadblock was recorded by eyewitnesses, and plumes of smoke were filmed rising over several cities, including Guadalajara.
Warnings, local impacts and official messages
The US Department of State issued a shelter-in-place warning for US citizens in the states of Jalisco and Tamaulipas, and in some areas of Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon. In Puerto Vallarta, a tourist hotspot on the Jalisco coast, potentially thousands of tourists were trapped in the resort amid the unrest. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo urged people to remain "calm" and wrote on X that "in most parts of the country, activities are proceeding normally. " Throughout Sunday there were reports of gunmen on the streets in Jalisco and elsewhere.
Authorities have said the operation was carried out by special forces and that injured personnel were moved to Mexico City for treatment. Guadalajara, one of the host cities of the forthcoming Fifa World Cup, was among the places where smoke was seen; federal and air assets were mobilised as part of the response. What happens next will be driven by ongoing security operations and the movement of detained suspects and seized materiel to authorities in the capital.
