Mexico: Violence flares over killing of 'El Mencho'

Air Canada on Monday said it would resume full ‌operations ⁠from ⁠Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta ​on Tuesday.

Canada's flagship carrier also said that operations from Toronto to Guadalajara ‌in western ​Mexico will resume on Wednesday.

Air Canada, United ​Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines had suspended ​flights ​to the area, ​following the surge in violence.

Mexican security forces have continued battling cartel gunmen after the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, resulted in him being killed.

His death sparked violence that has seen cartel fighters blocking roads with burning vehicles in the state of Jalisco.

Several Mexican states canceled school on Monday, while local and foreign governments warned their citizens to remain in place and not go outside.

In the immediate aftermath, tourists to the region had their flights cancelled, with many sharing videos of their experiences on social media.

"The entire downtown in the bay was just covered in thick black smoke, pretty scary," the AP news agency quoted tourist Steve Perkins as saying. "And then at one point, we heard screams. We heard a lot of screams … So then we started getting really worried."

Mexico's Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday that at least 74 people were killed in the operation to capture "El Mencho," who himself was killed.

Authorities say the dead include security forces — of whom 25 were killed — suspected cartel members and others.

Suspected members of Oseguera's Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) set cars on fire in several states and blocked numerous roads following his killing.

Banks, petrol stations and shops were also attacked as residents sought safety.

According to Mexican media reports, around 20 of Mexico's 32 states have been impacted by violence after the drug lord's death, including Jalisco, Michoacan, Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas and Guanajuato.

Mexican authorities say a girlfriend of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as "El Mencho," helped put security forces on his trail.

Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said that the operation to take down Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ended when special forces found him "hidden in the undergrowth" in his home state of Jalisco.

But the bloody conclusion was the culmination of years of intelligence gathering by both Mexico and the United States.

Trevilla said investigators identified and followed a trusted associate of one of Oseguera Cervantes' girlfriends.

The associate escorted the woman to Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Friday for a meeting with Oseguera Cervantes. The precise location was confirmed by "very important additional information" provided by US intelligence.

Once the woman left, after spending the night with Oseguera Cervantes, units from the Mexican army and the National Guard established a ground cordon, Trevilla said.

With the additional support of six helicopters and overwatch from Mexico's air force, the wheels of the operation began turning in the early hours of Sunday.

Trevilla explained that, in his bid to escape, Oseguera Cervantes and his inner circle of guards took cover in the woods surrounding a complex of cabins.

He was surrounded and wounded during the confrontation, but ultimately succumbed en route to hospital.

The Jalisco New Generation cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal organisations. With its leader "El Mencho" gone, DW takes a closer look at the cartel — and the rival groups hoping to gain ground.

Mexico is feeling the wrath of a powerful drug cartel after an army operation led to the death of its leader, known as "El Mencho." His killing has sparked violence across the country, resulting in dozens of deaths.

The US State Department urged its citizens to shelter in place amid unrest in Mexico.

The advisory was first issued Sunday, with the State Department having updated it to include more states on Monday.

Government staff were to work from home in locations across the country, the advisory said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier said during her morning press conference that she expected flights from Puerto Vallarta, where there was significant violence on Sunday, to resume either today or tomorrow.

All other airports were open and operating normally, the US advisory said.

Mexico's security minister, Omar Garcia Harfuch, told a news conference that 25 National Guard members died in six attacks in Jalisco state during the raid to capture Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho."

Harfuch revealed for the first time that security forces were also killed in the operation. 

Officials had earlier said that Oseguera and six other cartel members were killed during the raid or its aftermath.

Harfuch said 30 criminal suspects were also killed in Jalisco, as well as a prison guard, an agent from the prosecutor's office and a woman whom he didn't identify. 70 people were arrested in seven states. 

 

Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said at a news conference that authorities had located an associate close to one of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes's girlfriends on February 20 and he had taken her to see Oseguera in Tapalpa, in the central-western Jalisco state.

When she left the house the next day, authorities stopped her and obtained information that Oseguera was in the house, Trevilla said. Authorities then began planning the operation, he said.

Trevilla said exchanges of information with US intelligence were important to the operation. 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a news conference that her priority was to ensure peace and security after violence flared between criminal groups and authorities following Oseguera's death.

US President Donald Trump called on Mexico to "step up" their action against cartels following the death of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho" on Sunday morning.

Trump had earlier said he was willing to launch unilateral strikes inside Mexico to thwart the flow of illegal narcotics into the US.

Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has pushed back against Trump's threats of military action. 

Four soccer games in Mexico were postponed after violence flared up near Guadalajara, one of the country's host cities for the 2026 World Cup.

The Mexican league said on its ​social media pages that two top-tier games scheduled for ​Sunday — Queretaro v. FC Juarez in the men's league and Chivas v America in the women's league — had been postponed indefinitely.

Two second division matches scheduled for Sunday ‌were also called off, local media reported.

Meanwhile, organizers of ⁠the ​Mexican Open men's tennis tournament in Acapulco said ​the event would begin on Monday as scheduled under established security protocols.

Security forces, including the National Guard, army and navy have been deployed to the streets in the wake of the federal operation that killed drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho." 

Guadalajara is the capital of the western Mexican state of Jalisco, which gives its name to Oseguera's Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Mexico's Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said some 2,500 troops were being deployed to boost security in the country's west.

"Around 7,000 troops were stationed in Jalisco, so they are going to be reinforced" with more troops in the area of operation for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, he said. 

The cartel was led by Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, who was announced dead on Sunday after he was injured in an army raid. His death sparked widespread violence by cartel members, who went on torching vehicles and businesses and blocking roads.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged people to stay calm, saying that authorities have cleared over 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states. 

"Today there is more calm and there is a government, there are armed forces. There is a security Cabinet and there is a lot of coordination," she said. 

"So, you can rest assured that peace, security, and normality are being maintained in the country,” the president said during her morning press conference.

Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho" Oseguera headed western Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed during a Mexican army raid on Sunday.

The US had offered a $15 million bounty (almost €12.7 billion) for his capture.

Oseguera was wounded during a raid in the town of Tapalpa in western Jalisco state and died while being flown to Mexico City, the Mexican army said in a statement.

It said four members of the cartel were killed in the raid and three more, including Oseguera, died of their wounds while being transferred to the Mexican capital.

The US Justice Department considers the cartel, which was founded in 2009, to be one of Mexico's most violent drug trafficking organizations.

It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the United States and also produces fentanyl and methamphetamines.

Oseguera was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin by a California court in 1994 and served a prison sentence of nearly three years. After his release from prison, he returned to Mexico and continued to engage in cartel activity.

He has been indicted several times in a US court, including a 2022 indictment for conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances and use of firearms in connection with drug trafficking offenses.