El Mencho Dead Killed in Mexican Raid, Boss Of CJNG

Mexican security forces have killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, widely known as “El Mencho”, the long-elusive boss of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in a major military operation that has unleashed a wave of violent reprisals across at least 13 Mexican states.

The confrontation took place on February 22, 2026, in the rural municipality of Tapalpa, Jalisco—the heartland and origin point of the cartel. According to official statements from Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense, Oseguera was gravely wounded during intense gunfire with troops and died shortly afterward while being evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Mexico City. The same raid left at least nine other alleged CJNG gunmen dead, two in custody, and yielded a significant cache of weapons, armored SUVs, and anti-aircraft rocket launchers. Three members of the security forces were injured in the exchange.

For more than a decade, Oseguera, believed to be 59 or 60 years old, had directed one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organizations. The CJNG controls large-scale production and smuggling of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine into the United States, while routinely extorting businesses, seizing territory from rivals, and using extreme brutality to maintain control in multiple regions.

Oseguera had been one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, evading capture despite U.S. indictments for drug trafficking and a standing reward of up to $15 million from the U.S. Department of State for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

Within hours of his death, suspected CJNG cells launched coordinated attacks. Gunmen set fire to vehicles, supermarkets, bank branches, gas stations, and public buildings, while blocking major highways with burning barricades. In Jalisco alone, more than 20 branches of a major state-owned bank were damaged or torched. Public buses and schools suspended service in several cities, soccer matches and concerts were canceled, cruise-ship port activity paused in key tourist zones, and some international flights were rerouted. Scenes of panic unfolded at Guadalajara’s international airport—one of the venues for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup—although officials maintained that operations were not fully disrupted. Similar arson and roadblocks were reported in Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and other locations.

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President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to remain calm, confirmed close coordination with state authorities, and emphasized that everyday life continued normally in most of the country. She described the operation as a fully Mexican-led effort, supported by U.S. intelligence sharing but without any foreign military participation. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the outcome as an important victory for bilateral cooperation and regional security.

Security analysts, including Vanda Felbab-Brown of the Brookings Institution, cautioned that the power vacuum and revenge campaign could mirror the violent aftermath of the 2016 recapture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán or the 2024 arrest of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The scale and duration of the current unrest will likely depend on how quickly or chaotically the CJNG resolves its leadership succession.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City issued immediate shelter-in-place alerts for American citizens in affected areas of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Nuevo León. The episode once again exposes the deep difficulties Mexico continues to face in dismantling entrenched cartel structures amid mounting pressure to reduce cross-border drug flows.