Mexico Reports Military Killed Most-Wanted Drug Trafficker

One of the world's most sought-after drug traffickers, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, has been killed in a security operation, Mexican media reported Sunday. Newspapers accounts said the 59-year-old leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was killed during an army operation to capture him in the western state of Jalisco, reportedly near the town of Tapalpa, about 80 miles southwest of Guadalajara. The reports did not specify how Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed, per the Guardian. President Claudia Sheinbaum said only her security cabinet would conduct a public briefing.

Oseguera's death represents the most significant takedown of a Mexican drug capo since the capture of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was recaptured in 2016, per the Los Angeles Times. The former head of the Sinaloa cartel now is imprisoned in the US. Oseguera Cervantes headed the CJNG, widely seen in recent years as Mexico's most powerful criminal organization, per the Guardian. It's accused of moving large volumes of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine into the US, which had posted a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his capture. Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in US District Court for the District of Columbia, per the AP.

Reports of his killing were followed by widespread unrest across several states. Authorities and media outlets described coordinated roadblocks made from burning buses, trucks, and cars in at least Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacán, and Tamaulipas, per the Guardian. In Guadalajara, armed men set vehicles on fire, prompting chaotic scenes as people fled. Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro urged residents to remain indoors, halted public transport, and warned against road travel. The US Embassy in Mexico City issued a security alert advising US citizens in affected areas to shelter in place amid security operations, blockades, and associated criminal activity.