Mexican security forces have been deployed to Jalisco to fight roadblocks staged by cartel operatives after the killing of "El Mencho," head of the powerful Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion.
Mexico's Security Cabinet said on Sunday that it was addressing the blockades "taking place in some areas of Jalisco, which are a result of operations carried out by federal institutions."
Smoke rises from CJNG Cartel attacks and checkpoints across Puerto Vallarta in the Mexican state of Jalisco, following the elimination today of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known more commonly as El Mencho. pic.twitter.com/F4BnaCqh6t
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Videos posted on social media showed columns of smoke rising across Puerto Vallarta, in Jalisco, on Sunday. Infobae Mexico also detailed that vehicles were set on fire and people were trapped in the middle of blockades and attacks carried out by gunmen.
The killing of El Mencho is one of the most consequential blows to a major Mexican criminal organization in years, both because the CJNG has been widely described as among the country's most powerful and violent groups, and because Oseguera Cervantes had remained a fugitive despite a years-long, binational manhunt that included a U.S. State Department reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
The strike was part of an operation in the mountains of Jalisco and was framed as a major security success for President Claudia Sheinbaum's government.
Mexico's Secretariat of Defense confirmed that "El Mencho" died during a clash between members of the military and cartel operatives. It noted that four cartel operatives were killed in the clash, while three others were seriously injured. One of them was Oseguera Cervantes, who died while being taken to Mexico City. No military members died during the operation, authorities added.
In this context, the U.S. State Department urged U.S. citizens in several Mexican states to shelter in place until further notice due to the fallout of the killing. The notice includes the following locations: "Jalisco State (including Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Guadalajara), Tamaulipas State (including Reynosa and other municipalities), areas of Michoacan State, Guerrero State, and Nuevo Leon State."
Oseguera Cervantes rose from local criminal networks into the top tier of Mexico's underworld, becoming the face of CJNG's rapid expansion. The cartel emerged after fractures in earlier organizations, and over time built a reputation for combining sophisticated trafficking with aggressive territorial violence, as well as diversification into other illicit businesses.
According to In Sight Crime, CJNG is not just a cartel. It has been described by U.S. officials and researchers as a network that grew by absorbing or partnering with existing criminal cells in multiple regions, which is one reason "decapitation" events can trigger unpredictable splintering.
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