Source Deccan Herald
MEXICO CITY – For years, he was the ghost of the Sierras, a man whose vast wealth and control over the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) made him the most hunted criminal in North America. But in the end, it wasn’t a paper trail of money or a shipment of narcotics that brought down Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho.” It was his heart.
Mexican authorities confirmed on Sunday that El Mencho was killed during a high-stakes military operation after intelligence officers successfully tracked the movements of his lover. While the drug lord had spent over a decade evading the combined efforts of the Mexican state and the U.S. government, investigators pivoted their strategy away from traditional financial tracking, choosing instead to shadow the woman closest to him.
The Operation
The breakthrough came when forces identified a remote cabin where Cervantes had been hiding for several days. By monitoring his lover’s secret travels to the hideout, the military was able to bypass the cartel’s sophisticated layers of security.
The ensuing confrontation was described as a “deadly gunfight.” As special forces closed in on the cabin, cartel gunmen opened fire, leading to a bloody skirmish that left several militants dead. By Sunday morning, the government officially declared that Cervantes had died from a gunshot wound sustained during the raid.
“What did we show? The strength of the Mexican state,” said Mexican Defence Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo during a press conference, hailing the mission as a definitive success.
A Nation in Chaos
The fall of the kingpin immediately triggered a wave of “narcobloqueos” (cartel-led blockades) across the country. Retaliatory violence erupted in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states as cartel members torched supermarkets and attacked security forces. The chaos claimed the lives of at least 62 people over the weekend.
Despite the carnage, President Claudia Sheinbaum struck a tone of resilience in her Monday morning address, confirming that major highways had been cleared and order was being restored, though schools and businesses in high-conflict zones remained shuttered.
The Legacy of Terror
El Mencho founded the Jalisco cartel roughly 15 years ago after splintering from the Sinaloa Cartel. Under his leadership, the CJNG became infamous for its paramilitary tactics and its diversification into kidnapping, migrant smuggling, and extortion.
His death marks the end of an era for a man who had a $15 million U.S. bounty on his head and was a central figure in the international fentanyl crisis. While the Mexican government celebrates the removal of its most-wanted target, the focus now shifts to the inevitable power vacuum within the CJNG and the potential for further internal warfare.
For now, the message from Mexico City is clear: the man who could hide from the law could not hide from his own affections.
