Mexican military special forces on Sunday, Feb. 22, with support from the Mexican Air Force and National Guard Special Rapid Response Force, killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the head of the most powerful and violent drug cartel in Mexico, and those found with him at the time of the raid. Weaponry and armored vehicles were seized in the process, including “rocket launchers capable of downing aircraft and destroying armored vehicles,” the Mexican Defense Ministry reported. Mexican and U.S. officials both report that the United States provided crucial intelligence support for the Mexican operation.
El Mencho’s New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG) is a highly militarized force responsible for exporting tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and illicit opioids (including fentanyl) into the United States. Secondary leadership responded to the successful takedown of its leader by launching a national terror wave, with highway and road blockades across the country, torching buses and cars to set up barricades. According to Mexican authorities, 252 blockades were thrown up in 20 states, and stores and pharmacies were attacked and looted. Just 2 Mexican military died in the raid itself, but 25 members of the National Guards were later ambushed and killed by the cartels.
Two international airports, in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, were closed to air traffic due to threats, and the U.S. State Department warned that all American citizens in Mexico—and there are many—should “shelter-in-place,” and not leave their hotels or residences.
