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In a significant breakthrough, Mexican authorities have reportedly neutralized a notorious figure in the world of narco-terrorism, a development that echoes with profound consequences. The individual in question, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes—infamously known as “El Mencho”—was a formidable leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a group implicated in the tragic deaths of countless individuals across the United States. This information comes from a former U.S. narcotics official.
El Mencho met his end on Sunday during a tense confrontation at his residence, where Mexican forces, with the aid of U.S. intelligence, attempted to detain him. This operation marks a critical moment in the ongoing battle against organized crime, specifically targeting the CJNG, which has long been a thorn in the side of law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border.
The aftermath of his demise was swift and violent. The cartel retaliated by igniting vehicles and erecting roadblocks throughout Guadalajara, plunging the Jalisco state capital into chaos. The city’s international airport was forced to operate on a restricted basis, highlighting the cartel’s pervasive influence and the volatile nature of the region.
El Mencho’s infamy had reached such heights that the U.S. State Department had placed a $15 million bounty on his head, hoping to secure his arrest or conviction. He was labeled as “one of the most wanted fugitives in Mexico,” underscoring the global urgency to curtail his activities.
Amidst the turmoil, images emerged of a bus engulfed in flames, a stark testament to the cartel’s disruptive power. This incident, occurring in Zapopan, Jalisco, is a vivid reminder of the ongoing struggle against organized crime in Mexico. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)
According to the State Department, CJNG has “the highest cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking capacity in Mexico.” El Mencho has been indicted several times and was charged in the U.S. with conspiracy and distribution of a controlled substance (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for purposes of unlawful importation into the United States and use of a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking crimes.
Robert Charles, former assistant Secretary of State at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Maine gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital it’s not a stretch to say that the CJNG is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans due to drug overdoses.
“This particular cartel is very violent, and they reach to every one of the 50 states in the United States,” Charles said. “So what we have to understand is, you know, we don’t like the verbiage of war when we talk about managing drug violence. But at end of day, it is drug violence, and one of the things it reinforces to us is we must support law enforcement.”
Smoke billows from burning vehicles amid a wave of violence after drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as El Mencho, was killed, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Feb. 22, 2026. (@morelifediares via Instagram/Youtube/via Reuters)
Charles said it’s likely America will see “ripple effects” of El Mencho’s death.
While there isn’t an estimate of how many drugs are trafficked into America by the CJNG on an annual basis, individual seizures by the government paint a picture of how much product they’re moving into the U.S.
In September 2025, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized 92.4 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 1,157,672 counterfeit pills, 6,062 kilograms of methamphetamine, 22,842 kilograms of cocaine and 33 kilograms of heroin from the CJNG.
The cartel’s history of violence against Americans does not only stem from its broad drug trafficking network.
According to the New York Post, Isabel Ashanti Gomez, 22, was riding with her dad in his Ford F-150 in June 2025 when he tried to crash through a barrier believed to have been set up by the CJNG.
El Mencho was killed during a Mexican operation on Sunday. (Drug Enforcement Administration)
Believing a rival gang member was driving the pickup truck, cartel members opened fire and killed Gomez.
Hours before she was killed, Gomez posted a birthday message to her uncle on social media.
A soldier stands guard by a charred vehicle after it was set on fire in Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho. (Armando Solis/AP Photo)
“I hope you keep celebrating many more birthdays. See you later, after I’ve had a shower,” Gomez wrote.
After El Mencho was killed on Sunday, the U.S. embassy in Mexico told U.S. citizens in Jalisco state to shelter in place due to “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.”
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