Mexican Army Kills Leader Of Powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel During Operation To Capture Him

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican army killed the leader of the organization Jalisco New Generation CartelNemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, On Sunday, he decapitated Mexico’s most powerful cartel, giving the Trump administration the government’s biggest reward yet for its efforts.

In the statement made by the Ministry of Defense, it was stated that Oseguera Cervantes was injured during the operation carried out to capture him in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours southwest of Guadalajara, on Sunday and died while being taken to Mexico City. The state is a base for the cartel known for smuggling large amounts of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States.

During the operation, soldiers came under fire, killing four people on the scene. There are three more people among them Oseguera Cervantes, The statement stated that the injured later died. Two more people were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other weapons were seized. Three members of the armed forces were injured and were treated.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said in X that the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces “within the framework of bilateral cooperation, with U.S. officials providing complementary intelligence.”

The killing of the powerful drug lord prompted hours of barricades with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are widely used by cartels to disrupt military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state on Monday.

Videos circulating on social media show clouds of smoke rising over Jalisco’s tourist city of Puerto Vallarta and people running in panic at the airport in the state’s capital. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to the ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to travel to the airport.

Burning vehicles blocked the roads in the state capital, Guadalajara. Plans to establish Mexico’s second largest city Host matches at this summer’s football World Cup.

The US State Department warned US citizens in the states of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon to stay in safe places due to ongoing security operations. Canada’s embassy in Mexico has warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to generally keep a low profile in Jalisco.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus told residents to stay home and suspended public transportation.

The US State Department offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to El Mencho’s arrest. Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Known as CJNG, it is one of Mexico’s most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations and was born in 2009.

In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized previous administrations’ “staff” strategy of removing cartel leaders only to trigger outbreaks of violence as the cartels crumble. While he remains popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and he has been under huge pressure to show results against drug trafficking since US President Donald Trump took office a year ago.

On Sunday, Sheinbaum applauded Mexican security forces and appealed for calm in a post on X.

A Jalisco state official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said a National Guard member died in Tapalpa during the operation, a prison guard in Puerto Vallarta was killed during a prisoner uprising and an agent from the Jalisco state attorney’s office was killed in Guadalajara. Details were not immediately available.

The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military, including helicopters, and Pioneer in launching explosives and planting mines from UAVs. In 2020, in the heart of Mexico City, he carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles against the then head of the capital’s police force and now the federal security minister.

The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most notorious criminal groups and with a presence in all 50 US states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the US market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions of dollars from fentanyl and methamphetamine production. But Sinaloa has been weakened by internal conflict following the loss of its leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both of whom are in US custody.

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he immigrated to the United States, where he was convicted in 1994 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California of conspiracy to distribute heroin and served nearly three years in prison.

Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and resumed drug trafficking activities with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, aka “Nacho Coronel”. After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, aka “El 85”, founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.

They initially worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split and the two cartels fought for territory throughout Mexico for years.

Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia since 2017.

The most recent indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking crimes. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged with running an ongoing criminal enterprise under the Drug Threat Enforcement Act.

Users who searched for last year lost relatives Bone fragments were also found along with shoes and other clothing, authorities later said. Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.