The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, ” in an operation Sunday, a federal official said, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration for its efforts.
The official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said it happened during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco, where the cartel that traffics huge amounts of fentanyl and cocaine into the United States is based.
The killing of the powerful drug lord followed several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations.
Videos circulating social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.
The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.
