El Mencho or Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the feared Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was killed during a military raid on Sunday. As per Mexico’s defense ministry, there was a shootout in the western state of Jalisco that left El Mencho seriously injured and he died while being flown to Mexico City.
After El Mencho’s death, there was a wave of violence with cars being torched and gunmen blocking highways in multiple states. Amid the ongoing tensions, details of the operation in Jalisco that claimed the feared cartel leader’s life have emerged.
El Mencho operation: Blow-by-blow account
Mexico’s national defense ministry put out a post detailing how the operation went down amid a wave of unrest unleashed in the wake of El Mencho’s death.
Special Forces of the Mexican Army were involved in the operation and they acted on intelligence from the National Intelligence Center and the Attorney General’s Office (FEMDO). The operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco saw various aircraft from the Air Force and the National Guard’s Immediate Reaction Special Force intervene to help detain El Mencho.
Military personnel reportedly came under attack during this operation and they retaliated, which resulted in four members of CJNG dying at the scene. Three were seriously injured and lost their lives during the transfer to Mexico City, authorities said. While one of those who died in transit was identified as El Mencho, the update noted that authorities would work towards formally identifying those killed.
Further, two members of the organization were detained and various weaponry and armored vehicles were reportedly seized. These include rocket launchers capable of downing aircraft and destroying armored vehicles, as per the official update.
Three members of law enforcement were also injured during the operation. They were shifted to healthcare facilities in Mexico City to receive medical attention, as per the update. The post noted that the USA had assisted in providing intelligence that aided the operation. “It should be noted that, for the execution of this operation, in addition to the central military intelligence efforts, within the framework of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the USA, complementary information was provided by authorities from that country,” it said.
The post further noted that members of the National Guard and army troops in states surrounding Jalisco were concentrated on ensuring there was security in the region.
The military operation against Oseguera came after a pressure campaign from the Donald Trump administration on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government to ramp up its crackdown on drug trafficking, including U.S. threats to intervene directly in Mexico.
(With inputs from Reuters)
