A top drug cartel leader was killed during a raid carried out by Mexican authorities in the western state of Jalisco, fueling violent clashes across the country, but winning praise from the US. Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as 'El Mencho,' the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was slain in a federal operation against the group on Sunday morning, Mexico's government said in a statement.
Oseguera rose to prominence after helping found the Jalisco Cartel, known by its Spanish initials CJNG, around 2009. Originally a rival to the Sinaloa Cartel, it is one of the main groups that traffics cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl to the US. Taking out its leader marks a major political success for Mexico amid increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump to halt the flow of drugs.
Oseguera and six other cartel members were killed during the operation or its aftermath, Mexico's defense ministry said, adding that three soldiers were wounded. Mexican authorities used intelligence from the US to carry out the operation, the ministry added. Various weapons were seized, “including rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft and destroying armored vehicles,” the government said.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum congratulated the officials involved later in the afternoon and said most parts of Mexico were unaffected by the raid that was carried out with full coordination among all state governments. “We must stay informed and remain calm,” she said in a post on X, while acknowledging that some road blockades remain. She is expected to address the ramifications of the strike in more detail on Monday at her daily press conference.
After the raid, criminal groups burned cars and trucks to block roads in different areas of Jalisco, and there were also clashes between gangs and the authorities, according to local outlets Reforma and Milenio, which first reported Oseguera's killing.
Neighbours in Guadalajara, one of the venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, shared videos of armed groups shooting car tyres to block intersections. Security officials confirmed that 20 branches of state-run banking institution Banco del Bienestar were affected by the disturbances.
One of the country's business groups, Coparmex, advised Jalisco residents to stay in their homes. The state government also cancelled public activities through Monday, including school classes, and halted public transport in certain areas.
US officials praised the strike as a step forward. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who previously served as ambassador to Mexico, celebrated the kingpin's killing. “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world,” the diplomat said in a post on X. “The good guys are stronger than the bad guys.”
Still, the US embassy in Mexico issued a security alert urging Americans in affected areas to shelter in place until further notice. The blockades spread to other states, including Michoacán and Guanajuato. Pharmacies and convenience stores were attacked in several cities. Soccer league Liga BBVA MX said it would postpone games that were going to be held Sunday evening in Guadalajara and the state of Querétaro.
In the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta, usually frequented by tourists from the US and Canada during the winter, several roads were blocked. A video grab shared by Mexican newspaper Reforma shows smoke rising from burning vehicles in several parts of the city.
Flight tracking websites showed airlines turning around en route to the city. Mexican carriers Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion SAB, known as Volaris, and Grupo Viva Aerobus SAB, temporarily suspended services to the city, as did Air Canada. The Canadian government updated its travel guidance for Mexico, recommending travellers exercise a high degree of caution.
The violent blowback to Oseguera's killing reflects “the huge capacity that these groups have and the fact that they have become more powerful. They also represent a challenge to the state,” said Jose María Ramos García, a professor at El Colegio de La Frontera Norte.
The US raised the reward for information leading to Oseguera's capture to $15 million in 2024, a sign of his prominence in a criminal underworld that moves billions of dollars a year.
A dispute between Sinaloa Cartel factions has left its home state, Sinaloa, which has one of the worst homicide rates in Mexico as it has come under increasing scrutiny by the US and Mexican government. Its leader, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán, is serving a life sentence in the US.
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Attention is now focused on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is said to have diversified its business from drugs and is now profiting from illicit activities, including fuel theft and crude-oil smuggling.
Members of the group once tried to kill Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, when he was Mexico City's security chief in 2020. Last year, the State Department designated the Jalisco Cartel a foreign terrorist organisation, opening the door to greater liabilities for companies and financial institutions linked to it.
CJNG traffics drugs to Australia, Canada, Europe, Africa and South America, according to the US National Counterterrorism Centre. The drug trade is a major focus for the Trump administration, which has threatened land strikes on Mexico if it doesn't step up its enforcement actions. Sheinbaum is firmly opposed to US action in her country, but has pledged to work closely with Washington, including through intelligence sharing.
Mexico has tried to meet Trump's security demands, sending thousands of national guards to the northern border to reduce migration numbers and increasing drug seizures. It also handed over almost 100 prisoners, accused of crimes including drug trafficking, to US authorities, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who was implicated in the 1980s murder of a drug enforcement administration agent.
Oseguera, a former police officer from Michoacán, who was deported to Mexico from the US after serving time, did not have as high a profile as Guzmán outside Mexico, but he had become a major player. The CJNG has also infiltrated parts of government. Earlier this year, the Mexican government arrested the mayor of the municipality of Tequila, with allegations he participated in an extortion scheme that benefited CJNG.
The Jalisco kingpin's killing marks a change in Sheinbaum's relationship with the US, according to Armando Vargas, a security expert at Mexico Evalúa, a think tank in the capital. “The president will show off the fall of El Mencho as evidence of her security strategy's success,” Vargas said. “It will give her much more of an ability to respond to the threats to her political project, especially from Donald Trump.”
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