Jalisco New Generation Cartel gunmen went on a violent rampage after the killing of leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera. Photo / AFP
Jalisco New Generation Cartel gunmen went on a violent rampage after the killing of leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera. Photo / AFP
Mexico has deployed 10,000 troops to quell clashes sparked by the killing of the country’s most-wanted drug lord that have claimed dozens of lives, officials said.
Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was wounded in a shootout with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa,in Jalisco state, at the weekend and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said.
News of his death triggered spasms of violence, with cartel members blocking roads in 20 states and torching vehicles and businesses.
At least 25 National Guard members were killed in subsequent clashes, Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said.
Harfuch added that a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 suspected members of Oseguera’s criminal organisation were also killed.
Oseguera had a US$15 million ($25m) bounty on his head.
Vehicles were set on fire by cartel members and used to block roads. Photo / Ulises Ruiz, AFP
Eight suspected cartel gunmen were killed in the special forces operation to capture him and three soldiers were wounded, Defence Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said.
Fearful residents went into hiding and tourists took shelter in their hotels and resorts as cartel members went on the rampage.
The government sent an additional 2500 troops to Jalisco – one of the host cities in this year’s Fifa World Cup – bringing the troop deployment to 10,000.
While US President Donald Trump had yet to respond publicly to Oseguera’s death, he posted briefly on his Truth Social platform: “Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!”
In Aguillila, the birthplace of “El Mencho” in Michoacan state, residents reported blockades.
Photos shared on local social media accounts showed a column of black smoke floating above the mountain village.
Cartel gunmen attacked a local outpost of soldiers in a village near Aguililla.
“First there was a huge gun battle, and then another, and another. But they couldn’t advance because the soldiers stopped them,” a local man, who requested anonymity for his safety, told AFP.
In Jalisco’s state capital Guadalajara, schools remained closed and most public transportation was suspended.
Large lines formed outside the few small stores that remained open, particularly tortilla shops, as anxious residents sought to stock up on supplies.
Maria Medina, who works in a gas station that was torched, said gunmen showed up and told everyone to get out.
“I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there,” Medina told AFP.
Violence also gripped the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, popular with US tourists.
Travel warnings from Britain, Canada and the United States were issued in the fallout, with Australia urging citizens to “exercise a degree of caution”.
Dozens of US and Canadian flights were cancelled.
Oseguera, 59, was considered the last of the drug lords who acted in the brutal mould of the now-imprisoned Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada of the rival Sinaloa cartel.
He was a founding member of CJNG, which was formed in 2009 and has grown into one of Mexico’s most violent crime organisations.
With his son Ruben “El Menchito” Oseguera Gonzalez, 35, convicted by a federal jury in Washington in September, experts have warned the “absence of a direct succession” could lead to a power vacuum.
“That opens the door to violent realignments within the organisation,” David Mora, an expert at the Crisis Group analysis centre, told AFP.
US ‘intelligence support’
Mexico said the operation to seize Oseguera was helped by “complementary information” from US authorities.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Washington “provided intelligence support”.
President Claudia Sheinbaum was adamant that no US forces took part in the capture raid.
Two suspected cartel members were arrested and a variety of weapons seized during the operation, including rocket launchers capable of downing aeroplanes and destroying armoured vehicles, the army said.
Washington has classified CJNG as a terrorist organisation and accuses it of sending cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.
