Mexican army kills ‘El Mencho,’ Mexico’s most-wanted drug kingpin
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities have killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers and the founder and leader of the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel, which controls drug trafficking, extortion, fuel theft and other rackets throughout Mexico.
The Mexican Ministry of Defense confirmed Oseguera’s death, saying he was injured during an operation in the town of Tapalpa in the state of Jalisco on Sunday morning. The military said Oseguera died while he and other cartel associates were being airlifted to Mexico City for treatment.
Oseguera’s death marked the most significant capture of a drug trafficker in Mexico since the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, then the head of the Sinaloa cartel and currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
The governor of Jalisco, where Oseguera was said to have been killed, reported roadblocks and other disturbances in the western state and advised people to stay home. Flights were stopped at the airport in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco.
Authorities also reported road closures in other parts of Mexico where the cartel dominates. Criminal groups in Mexico often use roadblocks to protest enforcement actions.
Oseguera’s reported death is a major success for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, which has been under intense pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on U.S.-bound drug trafficking. Last year, Mexico sent scores of cartel suspects to the United States to face justice.
US authorities had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Oseguera.
It was not immediately clear what role U.S. officials had in the operation to oust Oseguera. Sheinbaum promised “cooperation and coordination” with US officials but denied any direct US role on the ground in anti-cartel operations.
Oseguera is said to have started his career as a small-time heroin dealer in San Francisco.
Rumors about the death and capture of El Mencho, one of the world’s most wanted criminals, had circulated in the past and turned out to be unfounded. But in recent years authorities had apparently closed in on the case and captured several high-ranking associates and close family members.
Oseguera ran a military-like structure of his cartel that pioneered the use of armored vehicles, land mines, drones and other military hardware. The Jalisco gang has also been blamed for the shooting down of a Mexican military helicopter in 2015, which resulted in the deaths of nine Mexican law enforcement officers, among other attacks. The helicopter, which was reportedly hit by US-made .50-caliber machine gun bullets, was on a mission to capture the elusive cartel boss.
His son, Rubén Oseguera González, known as “El Menchito,” was captured and extradited from Mexico in February 2020. He was convicted in 2024 of a series of drug and weapons charges linked to his leadership role in the cartel and is currently serving a life sentence.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons records indicate he is currently in Colo. It shows that he is being held in Florence, a maximum-security federal prison known as the “Alcatraz of the Rocky Mountains” that has also housed “El Chapo” and other high-profile criminals.
His daughter, Jessica Johanna Oseguera González, was arrested while visiting her brother’s court hearing and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of violating the so-called Kingpin Act regarding money laundering. He reportedly spent just over two years in prison before being released in 2022.
Times writers McDonnell, Linthicum and Hamilton reported from Mexico City, New York and San Francisco, respectively. Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report.
