At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard were killed in six separate attacks across Jalisco state after the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — the infamous “El Mencho” — Mexico’s security secretary confirmed Monday.
The violence spread like wildfire through at least 20 states, with cartel members setting up more than 250 roadblocks, hijacking and torching buses, and attacking banks and businesses. A prison guard, an agent from the state prosecutor’s office, and a woman whose identity remains unknown were also killed. Thirty cartel members died in the unrest, authorities said.
The Operation That Killed a Kingpin
El Mencho, the 59-year-old leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was tracked down Sunday through a romantic partner he was meeting in Tapalpa, Jalisco. When special forces closed in, his bodyguards opened fire. The firefight left El Mencho seriously wounded, along with three members of the military. Four of his guards died at the scene.
As commandos airlifted their prize to Mexico City, he died en route.
The operation was planned and executed by Mexican special forces with “complementary information” provided by U.S. intelligence. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the U.S. role, calling El Mencho “a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland”.
The U.S. had offered a $15 million reward for his capture.
A Nation on Edge
As news of El Mencho’s death spread, so did the cartel’s response. In Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara — Mexico’s second-largest city — streets emptied. Residents hunkered down. Public transportation ground to a halt.
More than 1,000 people spent Sunday night trapped at Guadalajara’s zoo, sleeping in buses after violence made roads impassable. By morning, mothers wrapped in blankets carried toddlers out for bathroom breaks as police trucks stood guard.
In the resort town of Puerto Vallarta, tourists watched smoke rise from burning vehicles on the beach and described the scene as a “war zone”. Several U.S. and Canadian airlines canceled flights to the region.
The U.S. Embassy warned American citizens in five states — Jalisco, Tamaulipas, parts of Michoacán, Guerrero, and Nuevo León — to shelter in place. The UK government issued its own alert, urging “extreme caution”.
‘There Is Calm, There Is Government’
President Claudia Sheinbaum sought to project stability Monday, praising the army’s operation and insisting her priority is “to guarantee peace and security across the country”.
“There is calm, there is government, there are armed forces and there is a lot of co-ordination,” she said.
But the numbers tell a different story. Schools canceled classes in multiple states. Banks and businesses smoldered. And the cartel’s message was unmistakable: touch us, and we burn your country.
The CJNG, designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration in February 2025, has long been one of Mexico’s most aggressive cartels — pioneers in using drones as weapons, installers of land mines, attackers of military helicopters. Its leader’s death is a victory. But victory, in Mexico’s drug war, often comes with a price.
David Mora, a Mexico analyst for the International Crisis Group, said the violence may only be the beginning. Rival criminal groups may now move to exploit the power vacuum, triggering a new wave of bloodshed as factions fight to control El Mencho’s empire.
“There will definitely be skirmishes between the various factions,” said Carlos Olivo, a former DEA agent and CJNG expert. “These spasms of violence could last for years”.
What’s Next
For now, the roadblocks have been cleared, authorities say. Schools are reopening. Flights are resuming.
But in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, and a dozen other states where cartel gunmen ruled the streets for 24 hours, the question is not whether the violence has ended — but when it will start again.
A source close to the CJNG told Reuters the attacks were just the beginning: “The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader’s death, initially against the government due to public anger, but later internal killings will occur by groups seeking to expand their influence”.
El Mencho is gone. But the cartel he built remains. And as Mexicans emerged Monday to survey the damage — burned buses, shattered storefronts, 25 dead soldiers — they knew what came next.
