Riots in the Mexican state of Jalisco, where four matches of the 2026 World Cup are scheduled in June, began after the elimination of a drug dealer under the nickname “El Mencho” by the security forces. Cartel members began to set fire to vehicles, block highways and arrange shootings with police and military in other regions.
The Guardian, Mexico’s Defense Ministry has confirmed that one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, a former policeman and boss of Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation cartel known as El Mencho, has been eliminated by security forces. This operation provoked a wave of violence in half a dozen states, informs the portal PromPolitInform.
The drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was killed Sunday in the western state of Jalisco along with at least six alleged accomplices, the ministry said in a statement.
The 59-year-old was the leader of a gang that in recent years has become Mexico’s most powerful and notorious criminal organization.
Although it is less known internationally than the Sinaloa cartel of the now-imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Jalisco group in Mexico is notorious for its ultra-violence and large military-style arsenal.
Four members of the cartel died at the scene, three more, including El Mencho, died while being transported by plane to Mexico City.
Two alleged cartel members were arrested with weapons, including rocket launchers, capable of shooting down aircraft and destroying armored vehicles. Videos published in one of the regional newspapers, El Occidental, show scenes of probably heavy fighting in Tapalpa, located in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico.
The ministry added that three soldiers were injured during the operation and were taken to the capital for treatment. A Jalisco state official, who wished to remain anonymous, later told The Associated Press that a member of the National Guard died during the Tapalpa operation, six more members of the National Guard died in Zapopan, a prison guard was killed in a prison in Puerto Vallarta during prisoner unrest, and an agent of the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office was killed in Guadalajara.
The assassination of El Mencho caused an immediate outbreak of unrest in the region he ruled, demonstrating his enormous influence on Mexico and other parts of Latin America. The riots forced American and Canadian airlines to cancel dozens of flights. Air Canada announced the suspension of flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to a continuing security threat” and advised passengers not to travel to their airport.
On Sunday, in at least eight Mexican states: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacan, Colima, Guerrero, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas, “drug blocks” made of burning cars, buses and trucks could be seen. Videos show huge clouds of smoke billowing into the sky over Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist town on Mexico’s west coast known for its spectacular Pacific Ocean beaches.
In the capital of Jalisco, Guadalajara – one of the cities hosting the 2026 World Cup – chaos reigned when airport passengers rushed for cover in panic, apparently fearing retaliatory attacks by El Mencho militants. Armed men were seen setting fire to cars in the city center.
One video posted on social media shows a group of armed men setting fire to a gas station in Guadalajara, pulling up in a white car.
By Sunday evening, Guadalajara had turned into a ghost town as civilians huddled there. Several states canceled classes on Monday.
The US had previously offered a reward of $15m (£11m) for the capture of El Mencho, who was accused of smuggling vast quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine across the southern border. The El Mencho cartel, which was founded about 16 years ago and has become Mexico’s most powerful criminal group, has also been accused of attempting to kill Mexican government officials.
Senior U.S. officials celebrated the killing of El Mencho, which came after months of pressure from Donald Trump over the influx of drugs and migrants across the 3,145-kilometer (1,954-mile) border between the two countries. The US president even threatened military action against cartels he said were “running Mexico.” Writing on X, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, called El Mencho “one of the bloodiest and cruelest drug lords.” He also wrote: “This is a great event for Mexico, the United States, Latin America and the world.”
The exact circumstances of El Mencho’s killing, which analysts described as the biggest blow to Mexican cartels in more than a decade, remained unclear on Sunday.
The Defense Ministry said special forces of the army and National Guard launched an operation in Tapalpa, a town about 80 miles southwest of Jalisco’s state capital, Guadalajara, to capture the fugitive drug lord with the support of the air force and military intelligence. However, during this operation, “soldiers were attacked” and resisted.
The US Embassy in Mexico said the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces “as part of bilateral cooperation, and US authorities provided additional intelligence.”
A joint interagency task force to combat the cartel, which specializes in collecting intelligence on drug cartels, played a role in the military raid, a US defense official told Reuters. According to U.S. officials, the task force was quietly created late last year to identify networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.
White House press secretary Carolina Leavitt called El Mencho the main “fentanyl trafficker to our homeland,” adding that he was the main target for the US government. She confirmed that the US had provided “intelligence support” to Mexico to facilitate the operation.
As unrest grew, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro urged 8 million citizens to stay home “until the situation is brought under control.” Lemus said public transportation has been suspended and that people should not travel on state roads because of “violent events” that have spread to at least five parts of the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City also issued a security alert, urging U.S. citizens in the states of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon to “remain in shelters” in affected regions as a result of “security operations and associated road blockages and criminal activity.”
The Government of Canada stated: “Criminal groups have set up roadblocks with torched cars in several towns in the state of Jalisco… There were skirmishes with security forces and explosions… If you are [there], keep a low profile [and] follow local and international media to keep abreast of the rapid development of the situation.”
Reacting to the attacks after the murder of El Mencho, Landau wrote on X: “I watch the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern. Not surprisingly, the villains respond with terror. But we must never lose our temper.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said: “There is absolute coordination with the governments of all states; we must remain informed and calm. The accounts of the Cabinet of Ministers in social networks constantly update information. Activities continue as usual in most of the country.”
Photo – from open sources
