Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed there is no risk for the security of the FIFA World Cup matches that the country will host later this year despite the fallout from the killing of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the longtime leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Asked about the issue during her daily press conference on Tuesday, Sheinbaum said that "all guarantees are given" for the 13 matches that will be played in Mexico City, Jalisco and Monterrey.
Sheinbaum has also said that the country is already "calm and peaceful," adding that federal and state forces are working in coordination following backlash from cartel operatives, which included road blocks and different violent acts across the country.
Sheinbaum went on to say that all major roads in the country are clear and authorities will swiftly respond to any incident.
According to official figures presented by Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch and Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, about 70 people were killed and about 20 injured in multiple Mexican states following the military operation that resulted in the death of El Mencho.
Trevilla detailed casualties from the operation itself, saying three soldiers were killed in direct clashes in a wooded area of Jalisco and three more died from injuries while being airlifted to a hospital. He said troops also killed eight suspected gunmen, detained two people and seized weapons including seven long guns and two rocket launchers of Russian origin.
Elsewhere in the conference, the general said that forces managed to find El Mencho after tracking down a lover of his. Once the person left the premise, officers confirmed that El Mencho stayed there. Forces then moved on to detain him, engaging in a shootout with cartel operatives there.
Trevilla Trejo noted that that El Mencho tried to escape while leaving a group of operatives behind to slow down government forces. He made it to a nearby wood, but forces pinned him down and wounded him. El Mencho was taken to a helicopter heading to Mexico City, but he died on the way.
Another report detailed that the CIA provided 'instrumental' information to locate "El Mencho." Citing a U.S. official briefed on the operation, The New York Times detailed that the agency has several ways of collecting information in the country, including human informants, overhead imagery and intercepted communications.
The outlet went on to say that the U.S. has stepped up intelligence-sharing with the country and pressuring it to act on it. Mexican authorities confirmed there was cooperation with the U.S. in the operation.
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