At least 73 dead in attempt to capture Mexican cartel boss and violent aftermath
El Mencho was killed during a shoot-out in his home state of Jalisco as the Mexican military attempted to capture him.
At least 73 people died in Mexico’s attempt to capture the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the violent aftermath of his death, authorities said as much of the country feared another wave of violence.
The body count taken by security officials included security forces, suspected cartel members and others.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho”, was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the US and staging brazen attacks against government officials.
The organisation responded to his death with widespread violence, including blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles.
Oseguera Cervantes died after a shootout in his home state of Jalisco as the Mexican military tried to capture him.
Mexican defence secretary Ricardo Trevilla said on Monday that authorities had followed one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners to his hideout in Tapalpa.
Oseguera Cervantes and two bodyguards fled into a wooded area where they were seriously wounded in a firefight.
They were taken into custody and died on the way to Mexico City, Mr Trevilla said.
In a different location in Jalisco, soldiers also killed another high-ranking cartel member who Mr Trevilla said was coordinating violence and offering more than 1,000 dollars for every soldier killed.
The dead included 25 members of the Mexican National Guard who were killed in six separate attacks, security secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said.
Mr Harfuch said some 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco, and four others were killed in the neighbouring state of Michoacan.
Also killed were a prison guard and an agent from the state prosecutor’s office.
As the threat of violence loomed, several Mexican states cancelled school on Monday, while local and foreign governments warned their citizens to stay inside.
President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm, and authorities said all of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states had been cleared by Monday.
The White House confirmed that the US provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’s army for taking down a man who was one of the most wanted criminals in both countries.
Mexico hoped the death of the world’s biggest fentanyl traffickers would ease Trump administration pressure to do more against the cartels, but many people were on edge as they waited to see the powerful cartel’s reaction.
The US Embassy said via X that its personnel in eight cities and in Michoacan would shelter in place and work remotely on Monday.
It warned US citizens in many parts of Mexico to do the same.
Cars began circulating in Guadalajara before sunrise on Monday with the start of the workweek, a notable change from Sunday, when Jalisco’s state capital and Mexico’s second-largest city was almost completely shut down as fearful residents stayed home.
More than 1,000 people were stuck overnight in Guadalajara’s zoo, where they slept in buses.
On Monday morning, mothers wrapped in blankets carried their toddlers out of the buses for a much-needed bathroom break as police trucks guarded the area.
Luis Soto Rendon, the zoo’s director, said many had been trapped there since Sunday morning, when violence broke out in Jalisco and the surrounding states.
Families concluded they could not return home in nearby states like Zacatecas and Michoacan.
US President Donald Trump has demanded Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of fentanyl, threatening to impose more tariffs or take unilateral military action if the country does not show results.
There were early signs that Mexico’s efforts were well received by the US.
US ambassador Ron Johnson recognised the success of the Mexican armed forces and their sacrifice in a statement late on Sunday.
Under the leadership of Mr Trump and Ms Sheinbaum, he said, “bilateral cooperation has reached unprecedented levels”.
But the operation may also pave the way for more violence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to El Mencho’s organisation, said David Mora, Mexico analyst for the International Crisis Group.
“This might be a moment in which those other groups see that the cartel is weakened and want to seize the opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said.
Ever since Ms Sheinbaum took office, “the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” Mr Mora said.
“This is signalling to the US that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it. We don’t need US troops on Mexican soil.”
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to 15 million dollars (£11.1 million) for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which began operating around 2009, is one of the most powerful criminal organisations in Mexico.
In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation.
It has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines.
