El Mencho, US intelligence
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Death of cartel boss El Mencho could impact America's ongoing fentanyl crisis as his organization allegedly caused hundreds of thousands of overdoses.
Why it matters: President Trump has for months pressed Mexican officials to target drug cartels and the U.S. had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — a designated terrorist organization in the United States.
The death of drug cartel leader "El Mencho" sparked a wave of violence in an area slated to host World Cup matches this summer, making some fans nervous.
El Mencho was killed by Mexican special forces during a military operation to capture him in Tapalpa in the southern part of Jalisco on Sunday. Troops were sent in to arrest El Mencho, and his followers tried to fight them off. Authorities said he was killed during the operation.
The Secretary General of National Defense, General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, informed that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, was located thanks to a meeting he had in Tapalpa, Jalisco, with his romantic partner, who is apparently Guadalupe Moreno Carrillo.
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," was arrested in the U.S. multiple times before rising to lead the CJNG.
Officials identified “El Tuli” as a top CJNG logistics and financial operator who acted as a right-hand man to "El Mencho."
Before he become one of Mexico's strongest kingpins, 'El Mencho' had started his drug business career in San Francisco throughout the 1980s.
Personal belongings inside the house where Mexican drug cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, better known as 'El Mencho', spent his final hours before he was injured in a military raid and subsequently died while being transported in a helicopter, outside Tapalpa, Mexico, February 24, 2026. REUTERS/Liberto Urena
Mexican authorities discussed the role of U.S. intelligence in the killing of the drug cartel leader over the weekend.
Top security officials revealed details of the operation that led to the death of Mexico’s most wanted drug cartel leader.
Documents reveal the fall of “El Mencho" was the culmination of an aggressive “total elimination" strategy pursued by the U.S. against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).