Killing of Mexican drug cartel boss ‘El Mencho’ triggers wave of violence

Whole areas of western Mexico have been all but shut down after a surge in cartel violence sparked by a military raid that killed one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, known as “El Mencho”.Schools were closed in several Mexican states, and foreign governments warned their citizens to stay inside after the drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was declared dead on Sunday.The 59-year-old cartel leader was killed during a shootout after the Mexican Military attempted to capture him in a raid supported by intelligence from Washington. The US has been pushing its southern neighbour to take more aggressive action against groups trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.The operation immediately set off a wave of violence, with gunmen blocking major roads, torching cars and buses and fighting with government forces. There were attacks in 20 of Mexico’s 31 states, according to officials.Map showing where Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes was killedLa Jornada, a Mexican newspaper, reported that at least 26 people had been killed in the unrest, which was centred in the western state of Jalisco, including a pregnant woman reportedly caught in a shootout between troops and cartel fighters.The newspaper said the victims included 17 members of the state and federal security forces and eight members of El Mencho’s syndicate, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which has become Mexico’s most powerful and notorious criminal organisation.As the chaos spread, the Jalisco governor, Pablo Lemus Navarro, urged the state’s 8 million citizens to stay at home. Lemus said public transport services were being suspended.Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state and Mexico’s second-largest city, was almost completely shut down as fearful residents stayed home. Armed men were seen torching vehicles in the heart of Guadalajara, which is scheduled to be one of the 2026 World Cup host cities.Other video footage showed tourists on the beach as huge clouds of smoke rose into the skies above Puerto Vallarta, a popular resort city on the west coast known for its spectacular Pacific beaches. Most flights into the city were suspended and international airlines cancelled dozens of trips.Authorities there had issued a public advisory to stay indoors, and routes to airports may be blocked, the UK Foreign Office said in a travel advisory on Monday. The US embassy in Mexico-city" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="1779" data-entity-type="location">Mexico City also issued a security alert, urging citizens to “shelter in place” in affected regions.The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has called for calm, with authorities announcing late on Sunday they had cleared most of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states.While less internationally famous than the Sinaloa cartel of the now imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Jalisco group is a household name in Mexico, where it is infamous for its displays of ultraviolence and its massive weapon arsenal, which it has shown off in military parades. The cartel, which was founded about 16 years ago, has also been accused of attempting to assassinate Mexican government officials.The exact circumstances of El Mencho’s killing remained unclear. Mexico’s defence ministry said special forces troops from the army and national guard had launched an operation in Tapalpa, a town about 80 miles south-west of Guadalajara, to capture him.While doing so, however, “military personnel came under attack” and fought back. El Mencho was wounded in a shootout and died while being airlifted to Mexico-city" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="1779" data-entity-type="location">Mexico City. Six of his accomplices were killed, and two alleged cartel members were arrested with weapons that included rocket launchers.Washington had offered a $15m (£11m) reward for his capture, and the White House confirmed that the US provided intelligence support to the operation. Senior US officials celebrated the killing, which follows months of pressure from Donald Trump over the influx of drugs and migrants across the 1,954-mile (3,145km) border between the two countries. The Trump administration has designated the Jalisco cartel as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, and the US president has even threatened direct military action against cartels that he has claimed “are running Mexico”.Writing on X, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, called El Mencho “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins”. He posted: “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.”People are being advised to stay indoors, while international flights have been suspended. Photograph: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto/ShutterstockWhile the killing may relieve pressure on President Sheinbaum from Trump, it will also create a cartel power vacuum. Sheinbaum has previously criticised the discredited “war on drugs” strategy, in which military action often triggers major violence only for new cartel leaders to emerge.Chris Dalby, an organised crime expert who has written a book about the Jalisco cartel, said one of the biggest questions now facing Mexico was who – if anyone – would fill the dead criminal’s boots.“If no one can, if the CJNG finally splinters, you have four or five different lieutenants with the manpower, the weaponry and the criminal empires to build their own fiefdoms – and that could plunge Mexico into almost record levels of violence,” Dalby said.Some sources have cited El Mencho’s stepson, Juan Carlos, as a possible successor with enough backing to hold the cartel together. “If [he] can unite the CJNG we may avoid that kind of civil war,” Dalby said, although he said he believed that was far from guaranteed.