The Mexican army announced Sunday that it had killed powerful drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in an operation that sparked a wave of violence in various parts of the country.
Oseguera, the 59-year-old leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said in a statement. He had a $15 million US bounty on his head.
Gunmen retaliating for the raid blocked more than 20 roads in western Jalisco state, burning cars and trucks. As violence spread across the country, at least eight states suspended in-person classes and the judiciary authorized judges to close courts where necessary.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to remain calm.
Oseguera, whose nickname was “El Mencho,” is one of the biggest Mexican drug lords to be taken down since the capture of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael Zambada. Both are now serving time in the United States.
Sunday’s statement said that in addition to Mexico’s own military intelligence, the raid was carried out with “complementary information” from US authorities.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington “provided intelligence support.”
Six suspected cartel gunmen besides Oseguera were killed and three soldiers were wounded, the Mexican army said.
Two cartel suspects were arrested and a variety of weapons were seized, including rocket launchers capable of taking down airplanes and destroying armored vehicles, the statement said.
As gunmen blocked roads with retaliatory violence, Jalisco state, which is scheduled to host four World Cup games this summer, cancelled all events involving large crowds.
– ‘Great development for Mexico’ –
The streets of the state capital Guadalajara were almost empty as stores, pharmacies and gas stations shut down.
Maria Medina, who works in a gas station that was set on fire, said men with guns 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.
The violence spread to the neighboring state of Michoacan, where Oseguera’s cartel also has a presence, and to the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
His cartel was formed in 2009 and became one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations, according to the US Justice Department.
Amid the violence, Guatemala said it was reinforcing “strategic” sections of its frontier with Mexico, which has seen cross-border incursions by criminal groups linked to cartels in recent months.
The United States has classified the Jalisco cartel as a terrorist organization and accuses it of sending cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the operation and called Oseguera “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins.”
“This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world,” he added.
The raid came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump for Mexico to stem the flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.
Trump has threatened repeatedly to slap tariffs on Mexican exports, arguing that Sheinbaum has not done enough to combat the drug trade.
In a statement on social media released after Sunday’s violence broke out, the US State Department urged US citizens in large parts of Mexico to “shelter in place until further notice.”
Canada also issued a travel warning for some areas, citing “shootouts with security forces and explosions” in Jalisco, Guerrero and Michoacan states.
US and Canadian airlines cancelled dozens of flights to Mexico over the violence, with Air Canada saying cancellations to Puerto Vallarta would stretch into at least Monday.