GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In response to the violent backlash following the military’s killing of a notorious cartel leader, schools across several Mexican states were closed, and both local and international authorities advised people to remain indoors.
The chaos erupted after Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, infamously known as “El Mencho,” was killed by the Mexican army in a confrontation in his home state of Jalisco. El Mencho led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most rapidly expanding criminal organizations, notorious for smuggling fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States and executing brazen attacks on government officials resisting their operations.
The attempt to capture El Mencho culminated in a deadly shootout, provoking a violent response from cartel members who set vehicles ablaze and barricaded roads across the nation.
President Claudia Sheinbaum called for calm as authorities announced by late Sunday that they had cleared more than 250 cartel blockades across 20 states. The White House noted that the U.S. had provided intelligence support to the operation, commending Mexico’s military for eliminating one of the most wanted criminals in both the United States and Mexico.
While the Mexican government hopes that the elimination of a major fentanyl trafficker will alleviate pressure from the Trump administration to combat cartels, citizens remain tense, anticipating the cartel’s next move.
Many fear more violence
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco and the second-largest city in Mexico, was virtually paralyzed on Sunday as residents opted to stay indoors out of fear.
Passengers arriving to the city’s international airport Sunday night were told it was operating with limited personnel because of the burst of violence.
Jacinta Murcia, a 64-year-old nutrition products vendor, was among those nervously walking late Sunday night through the airport, where earlier in the day travelers sprinted and ducked behind chairs fearing violence. Most flights into the city were suspended on Sunday.
Murcia anxiously scrolled through news stories on social media showing the face of “El Mencho” and sent messages to her children, who were tracking her location as she tried to travel across the city to her house after dark.
“My plan today leaving the airport is to see if there are any taxis, but I’m scared of everything. That there are blockades, that there’s a curfew, that something could happen,” she said. “I’m all alone.”
Authorities in Jalisco, Michoacan and Guanajuato reported at least 14 other people killed Sunday, including seven National Guard troops.
Videos circulating on social media showed tourists in Puerto Vallarta walking on the beach with smoke rising in the distance.
In another part of the airport a group of elderly Mexicans gathered, discussing how to get home.
“We better all go together,” one said. “Go with God.”
A blow against a cartel could be a diplomatic coup
David Mora, Mexico analyst for International Crisis Group, said the capture and outburst of violence marks a point of inflection in Sheinbaum’s push to crack down on cartels and relieve U.S. pressures.
U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of the often-deadly drug fentanyl, threatening to impose more tariffs or take unilateral military action if the country does not show results.
There were early signs that Mexico’s efforts were well received by the United States.
U.S. Amb. Ron Johnson recognized the success of the Mexican armed forces and their sacrifice in a statement late Sunday. He added that “under the leadership of President Trump and President Sheinbaum, bilateral cooperation has reached unprecedented levels.”
But it may also pave the way for more violence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to the CJNG, Mora said.
“This might be a moment in which those other groups see that the cartel is weakened and want to seize the opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said.
“Ever since President Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” Mora said. “This is signaling to the U.S. that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don’t need U.S. troops on Mexican soil.”
‘El Mencho’ was a major target
Oseguera Cervantes, who was wounded in the operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement.
During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said via X that the U.S. government provided intelligence support for the operation. “‘El Mencho’ was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland,” she wrote. She commended Mexico’s military for its work.
The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico and began operating around 2009.
In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.
Sheinbaum has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders, only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.
The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military – including on helicopters – and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.
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Sánchez reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer María Verza contributed to this report.
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