Cartel leader

The surveillance of a romantic couple helped put the Mexican military on the trail of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as “El Mencho,” who was captured and killed on Sunday, Mexican authorities said Monday.

Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla said Sunday’s Mexican special forces operation, which included U.S. intelligence, ended when special forces found Oseguera Cervantes “hiding in the brush” in his home state of Jalisco. After several shootouts, eight gunmen were killed and the drug trafficker and two of his bodyguards were wounded. They were detained and died on the way to Mexico City, Trevilla said.

In total, more than 70 people were killed in the operation and the violence that followed, including security forcesalleged members of the cartel and others.

A source informed of the operation. told News themezone The raid was the culmination of intensified cooperation between the United States and Mexico against cartels under Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Intelligence sharing has expanded markedly in recent months through joint interagency channels linked to the US Northern Command.

This is how the capture of the leader of the most powerful cartel in the country and one of those in the United States was achieved. most wanted fugitives developed, according to Mexican authorities:

Follow a romantic partner

Both Mexico and the United States had been tracking “El Mencho” for years, who faced numerous outstanding arrest warrants for organized crime and drug trafficking in both countries. He had a $15 million bounty on his head and was “the number one priority for the DEA and, frankly, for federal law enforcement in the United States,” a top DEA agent in Mexico told News themezone in 2019.

This time, however, the intelligence efforts were successful. Trevilla noted that military investigators identified and began following a trusted associate of one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners. This individual escorted the woman to Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Friday for a meeting with the drug trafficker. The military official explained that the exact location was confirmed by “very important additional information” provided by US intelligence.

Land and air blockade

Once the woman left after spending the night with “El Mencho,” the special forces finalized their plans, having confirmed that he would remain in the area with a security detail.

Units of the Mexican army and the National Guard established a ground cordon, while six helicopters and additional special forces remained alert in the border states with Jalisco.

The Mexican Air Force provided additional support with reconnaissance and aircraft, Trevilla said. In the early hours of Sunday, after confirming their presence, the operation began. Throughout the mission, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was kept informed of every event during a tour of northern Mexico.

A violent response

General Trevilla described the criminals’ response as extremely violent.

During the confrontation, he said, “El Mencho” tried to flee with two bodyguards, while a heavily armed group stayed behind to stop the military advance. The death toll at the scene reached eight, which Trevilla said was four more than initially reported on Sunday.

Among the weapons seized were two rocket launchers, including one identical to the model used by the CJNG in 2015 to shoot down a military helicopter. That 2015 attack served as a grim milestone, demonstrating that the cartel was prepared to confront Mexican authorities with large-scale lethal force.

“Hidden in the weeds”

Oseguera Cervantes tried to take refuge in a wooded area dotted with cabins on the outskirts of Tapalpa. Although the criminals were heavily armed with rocket launchers, Trevilla noted that they were unable to deploy them. Special forces eventually “located him hiding in the undergrowth,” triggering another intense confrontation that left “El Mencho” and two of his bodyguards injured.

During the chaos, a military helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing after being hit by gunfire, and two people were detained at the scene. Three soldiers were injured in the clash.

dead on the road

Once the scene was secured, the cartel leader and his bodyguards were loaded onto a helicopter for emergency transport to a nearby hospital. However, Trevilla confirmed that they died on the way and noted that they were already in “critical condition.”

After their deaths, the flight plan was reoriented. Instead of landing in the capital of the state of Jalisco, the bodies were flown to Mexico City to avoid any violent retaliation by the criminal organization.

Despite the loss of its founder, the cartel is expected to retain substantial operational capacity, a source briefed on the operation told News themezone.

Still, a succession fight Infighting within the cartel has begun, with regional commanders fighting for power and control. In the past, the removal of cartel leaders in Mexico has often resulted in the fragmentation of their organizations and secondary violence, rather than collapse. Early indications are that this pattern is repeating itself, with revenge attacks and destabilization efforts in up to 20 Mexican states.

$1,000 for every soldier killed

About 62 miles west of Tapalpa, a logistics and financial operator known only as “El Tuli” allegedly offered the gunmen a reward of 20,000 pesos (more than $1,000) for each soldier killed, Trevilla said.

The Defense Minister also said that “El Tuli”, supposedly Oseguera’s right-hand man, masterminded a series of roadblocks, arson attacks and attacks on government facilities throughout the state of Jalisco.

The Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch, said that the most severe violence occurred in Jalisco, where 25 members of the National Guarda prison official, a prosecutor’s office employee and an alleged civilian woman were murdered, in addition to 30 alleged criminals.

In neighboring Michoacán, four more gunmen were killed and 15 security personnel were wounded.

A parachute rifle brigade located “El Tuli” and killed him in a shootout, seizing long and short firearms along with almost $1.4 million in mixed US and Mexican currency. Still, cartel retaliation continued in several Mexican states.