Mencho's death prompts U.S. security alert and bolsters Mexico’s security strategy

The death of mencho, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, has triggered a U. S. Department of State security alert for Americans in Mexico and sharpened focus on a new Mexican security strategy. Mexican authorities say the operation that ended with the death of the CJNG leader was carried out in the sierra of the State of Jalisco with intelligence support from the United States.

U. S. Department of State issues alert after Mencho operation

On Feb. 23, 2026, the U. S. Department of State issued a security alert for U. S. citizens in Mexico in the wake of the operation that concluded with the death of 'El Mencho. ' The Government of Trump congratulated its Mexican counterparts through various channels for the success of that operation. Experts said the action will favor bilateral relations between the two countries.

Operation in the sierra of the State of Jalisco ended with the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes

Mexican authorities carried out the operation in the sierra of the State of Jalisco that ended with the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. The operation was supported with intelligence from the United States and culminated in the killing of the narcotrafficker long considered the country’s most wanted.

Fall of El Mencho is framed as a major win for Sheinbaum government and Omar García Harfuch

Officials framed the takedown as the biggest blow Mexico has dealt to drug trafficking in recent years and as the major achievement of the security cabinet led by Secretary Omar García Harfuch. The event is presented as the most significant result in a little more than a year of the new security strategy of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government and her security team.

Sheinbaum has said she will continue addressing the causes of violence, as her predecessor did, but adds intelligence and investigation to that approach. She has tried to replicate the strategy she used as head of Government of Mexico City from 2019 to 2023, a period in which García Harfuch also figured prominently. That shift has been accompanied by record drug seizures and arrests, and García Harfuch has said he has detained more than 40, 000 people for high-impact crimes during this administration.

Experts contrast the new approach with 'Abrazos, no balazos' and cite prominent past captures

Observers draw a clear contrast between the current strategy and the earlier era defined by Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s phrase "Abrazos, no balazos, " a plan of non-confrontation with criminal groups. While that term was in use, several high-profile captures were recorded—Ovidio Guzmán, El Ratón, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, El Nini 09 and Caro Quintero—but the general impression was one of a laissez faire posture toward cartels.

Erubiel Tirado, coordinator of the Program of National Security and Democracy at Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México, said the main difference between the two strategies is action: there is now evident activity against organized crime and attacks on leaderships. Tirado described the Mencho operation as a major internal and external triumph that sends an international signal that Mexico has control over its security as the inauguration of the 2026 World Cup approaches.

Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación’s reach, El Mencho’s role and the stakes of his removal

The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación has become the most powerful criminal organization in Mexico, particularly after a civil war inside the Cartel de Sinaloa and that cartel’s weakening. The CJNG has presence in almost the entire national territory and tentacles in more than 40 countries, after a decade of aggressive expansion. The U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration defines the group as one of the most powerful, influential and ruthless criminal organizations.

Unlike other groups with multiple heads, El Mencho was the undisputed leader of his cartel. Journalistic accounts cited a complex security belt around the capo; his takedown is therefore described as big game and a victory for Mexico’s security strategy.