Two days after the dramatic killing of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” tensions remain high across Mexico as his powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel launched coordinated revenge attacks nationwide.
Authorities deployed 9,500 soldiers to the streets, and no new unrest had been reported as of Tuesday. President Claudia Sheinbaum said all roadblocks erected by cartel gunmen had been cleared. “The most important thing right now is to guarantee peace and security for the entire population across Mexico, and that is what we are doing,” she said. “Peace, security and normal life are being maintained.”
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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, unrest after the killing of Jalisco cartel leader 'El Mencho'
(Photo: @morelifediares via Instagram/Youtube/via Reuters)
El Mencho, 59, was killed Sunday morning during a bold military commando operation in the western state of Jalisco, where he founded the cartel nearly two decades ago. The organization has grown into one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal groups, responsible for trafficking massive quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States. Washington designated it a terrorist organization, placed a $15 million bounty on El Mencho and pressed Mexico to intensify its fight against the country’s cartels. President Donald Trump has previously threatened unilateral action if Mexico failed to act.
The operation marked the most significant strike against a cartel leader since the 2014 capture of Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was later extradited to the United States.
Vehicle rams patrol, gunmen open fire: footage shows Jalisco cartel ambush on Mexican forces
Mexico chaos
Mexican authorities had hoped to capture El Mencho alive. Instead, he was critically wounded in a gunbattle with elite troops who raided a resort compound near the town of Tapalpa. He died of his injuries while being airlifted to a hospital.
His death triggered widespread violence. Cartel gunmen set up flaming roadblocks using torched vehicles, scattered spikes and nails across highways in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states and set fire to banks and local businesses. At least 70 people were killed in the unrest and related clashes, including about 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard and roughly 30 cartel members, authorities said. Additional cartel gunmen were killed during the initial raid.
Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said a “golden tip” identifying El Mencho’s location was received on February 20, two days before the operation. The lead came through a trusted associate of one of the cartel leader’s mistresses. The next day, she left the compound while El Mencho and his bodyguards remained inside. Special forces and a rapid-response National Guard unit prepared the raid within 24 hours.
To avoid arousing suspicion, the assault relied primarily on ground forces, with limited helicopter support. President Sheinbaum said the United States provided some intelligence but did not deploy forces on Mexican soil.
According to CNN, footage from the raid shows troops advancing uphill toward the rental cabins where El Mencho was hiding. Gunmen opened fire as forces approached. Eight cartel members were killed in that exchange and two soldiers were wounded.
A separate commando unit pursued El Mencho after he attempted to flee, leaving behind heavily armed fighters. He was found hiding in brush in a wooded area, and another gunbattle ensued with him and two bodyguards. All three were critically wounded and died during evacuation. Amid fears of retaliation, the helicopter diverted to an airport in neighboring Michoacan state before the bodies were flown to Mexico City. Authorities said rocket launchers capable of downing aircraft or destroying armored vehicles were found at the hideout.
Violence quickly spread. In Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city and a host of upcoming World Cup matches, gunmen reportedly opened fire near the international airport. Surveillance video from the town of San Isidro captured an ambush in which a cartel vehicle rammed a National Guard pickup before gunmen opened fire. At least four bodies were seen lying on the ground afterward.
Heavy smoke billowed over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta, visible even from space in satellite imagery. Video shared online showed tourists watching from hotel pools as military helicopters circled overhead.
Schools were closed in many areas and residents sheltered indoors. Several countries, including Israel, issued travel warnings. Flights were canceled.
Steve Perkins, a 57-year-old tourist from Oklahoma, told The Associated Press he and his wife were drinking coffee on their hotel balcony in Puerto Vallarta when they heard gunfire and explosions around 8:30 a.m. “The whole downtown was covered in thick black smoke. It was pretty scary,” he said. “At one point we heard screams, a lot of screams.” The couple switched from flip-flops to running shoes “in case we had to run.” His wife called their children “to say goodbye, in case we never saw them again,” he said.
El Mencho’s death comes at a sensitive time for Mexico, which is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Canada. The clashes, including in Guadalajara, have raised concerns about security and tourism ahead of the tournament. Analysts say authorities could not afford to miss the opportunity to strike.
“It seems Mexico calculated that the numbers worked in its favor — there was no better opportunity to capture him,” Armando Vargas of the research institute México Evalúa told CNN.
Born into a poor avocado-farming family in Michoacan, El Mencho migrated illegally to the United States in the 1980s, joined criminal gangs and served three years in prison. After being deported, he rose rapidly in Mexico’s underworld and founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in 2009. The group became a dominant supplier of fentanyl and methamphetamine to the U.S., expanding through aggressive recruitment, fuel theft, extortion and fraud.
The cartel earned a reputation for bold, violent tactics, including frequent use of drones in attacks. In 2015, its gunmen shot down a military helicopter in Jalisco. In 2020, they ambushed Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch, who survived; two of his bodyguards were killed.
Mike Vigil, former head of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said the killing sends a message to Trump that Mexico is “fighting aggressively and effectively” against the cartels. While acknowledging U.S. intelligence support, he said most information came from Mexican forces and that “all the credit” belongs to them.
Vigil described El Mencho as ruling his organization with an iron fist: “He controlled everything. He was like a dictator of a country.”
He said the killing could slow the cartel’s rapid growth and weaken it against rivals such as the Sinaloa cartel, which itself is embroiled in internal power struggles following the arrests and extraditions of its leaders.
Security analyst David Saucedo said that if El Mencho’s relatives take control, the violence could continue. If other factions prevail, they may seek to “turn a new page” and pursue a lower-profile criminal strategy. The worst-case scenario, he warned, would be indiscriminate violence resembling Colombia in the 1990s, including car bombs, assassinations and attacks on aircraft.
For now, Mexico remains on edge, bracing for whether the cartel’s revenge campaign subsides or escalates further.
First published: 13:34, 02.24.26