Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, infamously known as “El Mencho,” experienced multiple arrests and deportations from the United States long before ascending to the position of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel leader.

Cervantes’ criminal journey began when he was just 19, navigating the streets of San Francisco. A 2019 investigation by The Courier Journal, referencing court documents and interviews with both U.S. and Mexican authorities, sheds light on his early offenses.

In 1986, Cervantes was apprehended by the San Francisco Police Department for attempting to sell crystal meth, marking his first deportation. By 1989, he had returned to the U.S. illegally and faced arrest once more, resulting in another deportation.

The year 1992 saw Cervantes and his brother caught selling heroin to undercover agents, leading to their incarceration in a federal prison. Following a few years behind bars, he was deported yet again, as reported by The Courier Journal.

On Tuesday, the State Department announced El Mencho’s death. (State Department)

After a brief period with the Mexican State Police, Mencho climbed the ranks of the Milenio Cartel. In 2009, he broke away to form his own organization, the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), as detailed in a Rolling Stone article.

Mench ran that organization until his killing at the hands of Mexican police this weekend. He had a $15 million bounty on his head at the time of his death, according to the State Department.

El Mencho was detained during a Mexican operation in Jalisco Sunday. (Drug Enforcement Administration)

The operation, carried out by Mexican forces with U.S. intelligence support, underscores deepening coordination between the two governments as fentanyl trafficking remains a central political and security issue in the United States.

U.S. authorities steadily increased the reward for information leading to his capture, at one point offering up to $15 million, placing him among the most wanted fugitives globally.

Former DEA official Paul Craine once described Oseguera as “public enemy No. 1” and said he commanded an “army of thousands.”

Smoke billows from burning vehicles amid a wave of violence, with torched vehicles and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states, following a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” was killed, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, Feb. 22, 2026. (screen grab obtained from a social media video. @morelifediares via Instagram/Youtube/via Reuters)

Authorities have linked him to coordinated attacks on Mexican security forces, including a 2015 assault in Jalisco in which cartel gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades to bring down a military helicopter.

Over time, CJNG gained a reputation for projecting strength through public displays of force and social media messaging, reinforcing its position as one of Mexico’s most feared criminal organizations.

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