Jalisco cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ buried in a golden casket in a Guadalajara cemetery
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Leader Jalisco New Generation Cartel He was buried Monday in a shiny gold coffin topped with enormous floral wreaths and a large military presence in the state that gave its name to one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels.
A federal official confirmed this Nemesio Oseguera Cervantesaka “El Mencho”, is buried in a cemetery in Zapopan, a suburb of Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara. Dozens of people accompanied the funeral procession; many carried black umbrellas on a sunny day, and there was also a band playing Mexican regional music known as banda.
The official who discussed the location asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the incident. The Attorney General’s Office declined to confirm the location of El Mencho’s remains “for security reasons.”
Security measures had been increased since Sunday around the funeral home where the large anonymous flower wreaths arrived. Some featured an image of a rooster among flowers, and Oseguera Cervantes was sometimes called the “Lord of the Roosters.”
The Mexican army killed Oseguera Cervantes about a week ago while trying to capture him. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to his death certificate obtained by The Associated Press.
The murder sparked violence in nearly 20 states. The death certificate matches Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla’s description of the operation to capture Oseguera Cervantes. The cartel leader and two guards were seriously injured A gunfight broke out with soldiers outside a house in Tapalpa, Jalisco. Three of them died on the way to the hospital.
The certificate stated that Oseguera Cervantes had bullet wounds in his chest, abdomen and legs.
His body was first taken to Mexico City for an autopsy. His body was handed over to his family On Saturday, the Attorney General’s Office released a brief statement.
The death certificate also states that Oseguera Cervantes should be buried; This is standard practice in violent death cases to allow for the collection of additional forensic evidence if needed in the future. The document did not say where the funeral would be held.
The authorities’ security concerns about the burial site are well-founded. The murder of Oseguera Cervantes began cartel reprisals in many states. More than 70 people lost their lives between the military operation and the violence that followed. The government said security operations against other senior members of the cartel were ongoing.
It is not uncommon for the funerals of drug lords in Mexico to be surrounded by an air of mystery; Their supporters also take advantage of this to turn them into legends. Within hours of El Mencho’s death, ballads known as narcocorridos had already been written about his murder.
In Culiacan, in the neighboring state of Sinaloa, home to a cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its lavish graves and mausoleums of one-time ringleaders such as Ignacio Coronel, a former associate of El Mencho, and Arturo Beltrán Leyva.
There was the infamous twice-murdered drug lord named Nazario Moreno, leader of the violent and pseudo-religious Knights Templar cartel, who authorities say was killed in 2010 but actually killed in 2014.
Sometimes bodies disappear; as was the case of Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the fearsome Zetas, whose body was stolen in 2012. Or they die under strange circumstances, like “Lord of the Skies” Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who died after a botched plastic surgery.
___
Sánchez reported from Mexico City. AP writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
