Sheinbaum’s Government Takes Out “El Mencho”

Photo: PINTEREST

Nuestra America Magazine News Desk

Mexican security forces said they killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes — the leader of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, one of the country’s most wanted criminals. Some analysts said it’s the biggest blow to Mexico’s cartels in more than a decade.

The 59-year-old cartel leader, known as El Mencho, was killed during a shootout after the Mexican military attempted to capture him in a raid supported by intelligence from Washington, reports the Guardian. The U.S. has been pushing Mexico to take more aggressive action against groups trafficking illicit drugs.

Four cartel members were killed at the scene, while another three died while being flown to Mexico City, among them “El Mencho,” reports the Guardian.

Washington had offered a $15m reward for Oseguera’s capture, and the White House confirmed that the U.S. provided intelligence support to the operation. Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the U.S. authorities had provided “complementary information” that had contributed to the operation’s success.

Both the U.S. and Mexico have emphasized that the U.S. played only a supporting role in the operation. “The acknowledgement of US support without direct involvement seemed to be a good position for all sides. It allows both governments to take a victory lap without stepping on each other’s red lines. It also demonstrates that success can come without unilateral U.S. military operations, lowering the odds for a US strike in the near future,” argues James Bosworth in Latin America Risk Report.

“The killing could give the government a leg up in its dealings with the Trump administration, which has been threatening tariffs or unilateral military action if Mexico does not show results in the fight against the cartels. But the long-term effect on Mexico’s security landscape remains unclear,” according to the Associated Press.

El País reports that the operation to go after El Mencho had been postponed largely because the kingpin lived in densely populated areas of Jalisco and that the risk of collateral damage forced an extremely meticulous planning process for the raid.

The killing is a major victory for Mexico’s security strategy, and puts President Claudia Sheinbaum’s approach in the spotlight: she has maintained her predecessor’s insistence on addressing the root causes of violence, but strengthened intelligence and investigation, replicating the strategy she deployed in Mexico City from 2019 to 2023, where she also worked alongside her current security tsar Omar García Harfuch.

“So far, this approach has translated into record drug seizures and arrests. Since the start of the Sheinbaum administration, García Harfuch says authorities have made more than 40,000 arrests for high‑impact crimes,” reports El País.

Cartel operatives responded to the killing with a wave violence particularly in areas controlled by the CJNG, with gunmen blocking major roads, torching cars and buses and fighting with government forces. Officials said there were attacks in 20 of Mexico’s 31 states, reports the Guardian. Early reports indicate at least 26 deaths.

Violent roadblocks started even before the news of Oseguera’s death was public, notes Animal Político, feeding rumors of what major cartel leader had been taken out.

Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco state, was particularly affected: “Photographs taken in the immediate aftermath of Oseguera’s killing showed the burned-out wreckage of cars and buses blocking Guadalajara street junctions and entrances to businesses, with surrounding neighborhoods largely empty after residents were warned to stay inside.” (Washington Post)

“The burst of violence across more than half a dozen states painted a familiar scene for Mexicans who have spent two decades watching successive governments wage war on drug cartels, ravaging broad swaths of the country,” reports Reuters.

But order was fully restored today, according to Harfuch, who pointed out that the states most affected were Jalisco, where the operation against El Mencho took place, as well as Baja California, the State of Mexico, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Veracruz, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas. (El País)

“The cartel’s survival now depends on how quickly it can appoint a successor and close ranks, or it could fragment as internal factions fight for power,” reports the New York Times. “Another question is whether the Mexican government can sustain a war on two fronts — it is also waging a bloody battle against the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco group’s archenemy.”

The killing will undoubtedly weaken the cartel, but could lead to an increase in violence as factions compete for leadership.

The CJNG, though less known internationally than the Sinaloa Cartel, has been one of the most aggressive in its attacks on the military in the past decade and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines, notes the Guardian.

The the CJNG “uses violence and intimidation to secure cooperation and scare off rivals. It conducts public executions and puts the bodies on display, often publicizing the violence on social media. It has also attacked and assassinated Mexican politicians, judges and law enforcement officers,” reports the New York Times.

In 2020, the CJNG carried out a brazen assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force, Omar García Harfuch, now the Sheinbaum administration’s federal security secretary. (Guardian)