25 Mexican National Guard troops dead after drug lord El Mencho killed
· Toronto Sun
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most aggressive and feared criminal organizations in Mexico, have unleashed a wave of violence across 20 Mexican states.
Mexico Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said Monday that 25 members of the National Guard were killed in Jalisco in six separate attacks after the killing of the cartel’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”
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El Mencho was the boss of one of the country’s fastest-growing criminal networks and was notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and attacking any government official who challenged him.
He was killed during a shootout in his home state of Jalisco as the Mexican military attempted to capture him.
Cartel members responded with violence across the country, blocking roads, torching businesses and setting vehicles ablaze.
A prison guard, an agent from the state prosecutor’s office and a woman whom Garcia Harfuch did not identify were also killed.
The safety secretary added that about 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco and four others were killed in Michoacan.
A new day?
Schools across several Mexican states have been closed, with local and foreign governments warning citizens to stay inside after widespread violence erupted.
As President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm across the nation, and authorities said all of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states had been cleared.
Canadians in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, in Jalisco, were ordered to shelter in place with Global Affairs Canada updating its travel advisory Sunday, warning Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution in Mexico due to high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping.”
Passengers arriving at the city’s international airport on Sunday night were told it was operating with limited personnel due to violence.
But as of Monday, cars were seen out and about in Guadalajara before sunrise for the start of the work week, marking a huge change from Sunday when Mexico’s second-largest city was almost completely shut down as fearful residents stayed indoors.
More violence?
Authorities in Jalisco, Michoacan and Guanajuato reported at least 14 other people killed Sunday, including seven National Guard troops.
David Mora, Mexico analyst for International Crisis Group, said the capture and outburst of violence marks a turning point in Sheinbaum’s push to crack down on cartels and relieve pressures from the U.S.
The Trump administration has demanded that Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of fentanyl, threatening to impose more tariffs or take unilateral military action if the country does not show results.
While Mexico’s efforts were well-received by the U.S., it could also pave the way for more violence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to the CJNG, Mora said.
“This might be a moment in which those other groups see that the cartel is weakened and want to seize the opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said.
“Ever since President Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” Mora added.
“This is signalling to the U.S. that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it. We don’t need U.S. troops on Mexican soil.”
El Mencho was Mexico’s most wanted man
Oseguera Cervantes, who was wounded in the operation to capture him on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defence Department said in a statement.
During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including El Mencho, were wounded and later died, the statement said.
“‘El Mencho’ was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post, and commended Mexico’s military for its work.
The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho.