This past Sunday marked a pivotal moment in Mexico’s ongoing battle against drug cartels, as security forces successfully neutralized one of the world’s most notorious figures in organized crime. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, infamously known as “El Mencho,” was killed in a military operation in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco.

The operation, which aimed to capture the elusive drug lord, resulted in his death after he sustained injuries during a confrontation. El Mencho succumbed to these injuries while en route to Mexico City for medical attention. The raid also led to the deaths of at least nine other cartel members and left three security personnel injured. Authorities reported the capture of two suspects and the seizure of armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, including rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft.

Over the past decade, El Mencho had carved out a reputation not only as one of the most violent drug lords but also as one of the wealthiest. As the mastermind behind the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), he orchestrated a sprawling and diversified criminal enterprise that intelligence agencies estimate generated billions in revenue annually.

Efforts to curb the cartel’s financial power included Mexico’s Operation Blue Agave, which resulted in the freezing of over $1 billion in assets linked to nearly 2,000 individuals and businesses associated with CJNG. Despite this significant financial blow, investigators believe the cartel’s true reach and wealth far exceeded these early estimates.

El Mencho’s demise marks the fall of a financial titan within the global narcotics trade. Nonetheless, the empire he constructed remains a formidable force. Given the clandestine nature of CJNG’s operations, exact financial assessments are challenging. However, both U.S. and Mexican intelligence agencies have dedicated years to tracing the intricate financial networks of this criminal juggernaut.

A Personal Fortune Estimated in the Billions

Because the CJNG operated entirely within the black market, precise accounting is impossible. But U.S. and Mexican intelligence agencies have spent years mapping its financial footprint.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration previously estimated El Mencho’s personal net worth at at least $500 million, with investigators noting it likely exceeded $1 billion.

At the time of his death, the U.S. State Department had placed a $15 million bounty on him. The Mexican government offered an additional 300 million pesos. Those figures reflected not only his notoriety, but the scale of the criminal enterprise he commanded.

Unlike cartel leaders of previous eras who focused primarily on cocaine corridors, El Mencho built a diversified revenue machine that functioned more like a multinational corporation than a traditional trafficking group.

An $8 Billion Cocaine Business — and Billions More in Meth and Fentanyl

Under El Mencho’s leadership, the CJNG expanded aggressively into synthetic drugs, positioning itself at the center of the fentanyl pipeline into the United States.

Intelligence estimates suggest the cartel nets more than $8 billion annually from cocaine trafficking and approximately $4.6 billion annually from crystal methamphetamine. It is also considered one of the dominant players in fentanyl production and distribution, a trade that has produced extraordinary margins due to low manufacturing costs and high street value.

Even conservative modeling places CJNG’s total annual drug revenue well into the double-digit billions.

The cartel’s drug operations spanned production labs in Mexico, distribution hubs near the U.S. border, maritime smuggling routes, and partnerships across Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Prosecutors in U.S. cases described El Mencho’s son, Rubén Oseguera González, as serving as the cartel’s No. 2, overseeing labs, weapons procurement, and enforcement operations alongside his father.

Fuel Theft, Oil Smuggling, and White-Collar Crime

Drugs were only part of the portfolio.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the CJNG generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually through *huachicol*, or fuel theft. The cartel siphons gasoline from Mexico’s state-owned pipelines and has been linked to crude oil smuggling across the U.S. border. Court filings in U.S. prosecutions allege that fuel-theft proceeds were recycled into weapons purchases, methamphetamine production equipment, and payroll for cartel hitmen.

The organization also earns heavily from:

• Extortion of local businesses
• Human smuggling operations
• Illegal logging
• Large-scale real estate schemes
• Sophisticated timeshare fraud operations targeting foreign tourists

Taken together, these ventures form a diversified criminal balance sheet designed to withstand shocks in any single market.

A $50 Billion Asset Base

The Mexican government has estimated that the CJNG controls roughly $50 billion in total assets.

Those assets include:

• Luxury estates in Mexico and the United States
• Commercial properties
• Agricultural businesses, including avocado operations
• High-end vehicle fleets
• Warehouses and logistics hubs
• Vast arsenals of military-grade weapons

During Sunday’s raid, authorities seized cartel-owned armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, reinforcing how profits were reinvested not only into legitimate-looking enterprises but into paramilitary capability. Prosecutors have alleged the cartel brokered weapons purchases and military-style training from foreign mercenary contacts, further professionalizing its enforcement arm.

The scale of the enterprise is illustrated by the case of El Mencho’s son. In March 2025, Rubén Oseguera González, known as “El Menchito,” was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison. A federal judge ordered him to forfeit more than $6 billion in drug trafficking proceeds, a figure representing only a portion of the broader cartel’s revenue.

Immediate Fallout

El Mencho’s killing triggered one of the most widespread outbreaks of cartel violence in recent years.

In at least 13 states, armed groups set fire to vehicles, supermarkets, and banks, blocking highways and paralyzing cities in what appeared to be a coordinated response. In Jalisco alone, officials said roughly 20 branches of a state-run bank were set ablaze or damaged, and more than 20 roads were blocked with burning vehicles.

Concerts and soccer matches were canceled. Flights were diverted. At least one port halted operations. Some states canceled classes, and airlines and bus operators suspended routes. Panic briefly erupted at Guadalajara International Airport as videos circulated showing travelers fleeing the terminal, though authorities later said flights were operating normally.

The U.S. government warned its citizens to shelter in place in parts of five Mexican states.

Such tactics serve not only as retaliation but as economic signaling. By targeting infrastructure and commerce, cartel factions demonstrate that the organization’s operational capacity and revenue streams remain intact despite the loss of its founder.

The Billion-Dollar Question

The death of a cartel leader does not automatically dismantle the cartel’s balance sheet.

The CJNG’s infrastructure, supply chains, laundering networks, and diversified revenue streams are institutional, not personal. U.S. prosecutors have described a structured hierarchy with El Mencho at the top and trusted family members and lieutenants overseeing key divisions.

Whether the organization fractures or consolidates under new leadership will determine the next chapter. But the financial engine El Mencho built, measured in billions in annual drug revenue and tens of billions in assets, was designed to survive individual arrests and even assassinations.

El Mencho’s life ended in a military raid. The criminal conglomerate he built may prove far harder to eliminate.