Mexican forces seized rocket launchers as they conducted a deadly raid on a major cartel leader Sunday, as the seaside resort town descended in violence.
A shootout in the western state of Jalisco on Sunday left drug lord Ruben ‘Nemesio’ Oseguera, commonly known as ‘El Mencho,’ 59, mortally wounded, Mexico’s defense ministry confirmed.
The notorious drug boss was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) – one of Mexico‘s most powerful drug-running organizations which has been accused of trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl to the US.
El Mencho’s killing unleashed a wave of violence and chaos across the streets of Jalisco.
In the popular resort of Puerto Vallarta, frightened tourists described a ‘war zone’ as they posted on social media images of plumes rising in the sky overlooking the beach.
American authorities have long sought to capture Oseguera, offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest in December 2024.
The Trump Administration declared the cartel a terrorist organization last year, as former officials described the group as operating more like a paramilitary organization than a traditional trafficking gang, according to Fox News.
Former Drug Enforcement Agency officials also said the group commanded large numbers of gunmen and organized itself in a way that allowed it to deploy force quickly and visibly.
Mexican military officials conducted a raid on Sunday that killed Ruben ‘Nemesio’ Oseguera, commonly known as ‘El Mencho,’ 59, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
The Mexican National Guard participated in the raid and conducted patrols as violence erupted across the country
American authorities have long sought to capture Oseguera, offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest in December 2024. Former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is pictured announcing enforcement actions against the cartel in 2018
It would use coordinated roadblocks, armed convoys and structured enforcement wings to assert control in urban areas, as they expanded their reach and arsenals.
Those arsenals have apparently become so large that they included rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircrafts, as well as armored vehicles and heavy weapons that are more commonly associated with militaries, all of which were seized in the raid on Sunday.
But Mexican authorities had already known the group had massive weapons caches, after previously linking CJNG to a 2015 attack in which a cartel gunman used a rocket-propelled grenade to bring down a Mexican military helicopter.
The government has since increasingly relied on military forces – rather than local police – to confront senior cartel figures.
The raid on Sunday, for example, was carried out by Mexican Special Forces, with aircraft assistance from the Air Force and National Guard rapid-reaction units.
They were acting on US intelligence from a new US-military-led task force specializing in intelligence collection on drug cartels, called the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel. It was launched late last year with the goal of mapping out networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the US-Mexico border.
In a post on X, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration ‘commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation’ in Tapalpa, which saw three other cartel members killed, three wounded and two arrested.
She noted that El Mencho was a ‘top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland.’
‘Last year, President Trump rightfully designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization – because that’s exactly what they are,’ Leavitt wrote.
‘President Trump has been very clear – the United States will ensure narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to our homeland are forced to face the wrath of justice they have long deserved.’
Oseguera, a former police officer, founded and oversaw the rapid rise of the CJNG, which started as a splinter group of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel. He is pictured with his children
The cartel has expanded into one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, with up to 20,000 members by American government estimates
Former officials have described the group as operating more like a paramilitary organization than a traditional trafficking gang
Oseguera, a former police officer, founded and oversaw the rapid rise of the CJNG, which started as a splinter group of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
It has since expanded into one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, known for violent tactics including forced labor and forced recruitment.
Under El Mencho’s leadership, CJNG also became a highly diversified criminal enterprise, expanding from drug trafficking to fuel theft, extortion, human smuggling, and complex financial frauds as it takes in billions of dollars in revenue annually, according to The New York Times.
The cartel, with up to 20,000 members by American government estimates, pioneered use of drones in attacks against civilians in remote regions of western Mexico as part of its rapid territorial expansion.
It would also conduct public executions and put the bodies on display, often publicizing the violence on social media, and would attack and assassinate Mexican politicians, judges and law enforcement officers.
Following Oseguera’s death, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who previously served as the ambassador to Mexico in Trump’s first term, hailed the news as a ‘great development’ for the US and Mexico, as well as the rest of Latin America.
But as Oseguera’s corpse arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon in a heavily guarded convoy of National Guard troops, violence erupted across the country, with torched cars and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states.
Cartel members torched vehicles following the news of Oseguera’s death
Smoke is seen billowing from burning vehicles in the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta
Terrifying photos and videos from Mexico showed tourists and airport personnel alike running as armed cartel members took over the airport.
Air Canada, United Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines suspended flights in the area, leading some influencers to bemoan how they were left struck in the tourist hotspot.
‘We were supposed to leave this morning, and right as our shuttle came, our shuttle never showed up because they could not leave the airport due to a shutdown, due to cartel retaliation,’ makeup artist and mom influencer Kaila R Gibson shared in a video on Instagram.
‘So I really want to cry, I miss my baby,’ she continued. ‘It’s really scary, honestly. I have no idea how long we’re going to be here for. And it’s just quite terrifying.’
‘So if you could pray, I would super appreciate that – and pray for all the other girls that are also stuck here,’ she told her 275,000 followers.
Another makeup artist also told her followers how the resort ‘closed all the restaurants except for the buffet, and they said room service was available, but there was no availability.
‘So I’m rationing deserts, I’m eating my feelings and I’m drinking all night,’ the influencer, with more than 78,300 followers said.
Tourists are seen gathering at the Guadalajara International Airport, as multiple flights were diverted or cancelled
A total of 26 people were killed in the chaos on Sunday, La Jornada, one of Mexico City’s largest newspapers, reported.
It said that most of the fatalities occurred within federal and state security forces, which saw 17 agents killed.
Eight alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel were also reportedly killed.
Twenty-five people have also been arrested in Jalisco, state officials announced Sunday night.
Eleven were arrested for alleged participation in violent acts and 14 others were arrested for alleged acts of looting or pillaging.
Security experts now worry the raid and death of the cartel boss will fracture CJNG leadership and trigger bloody infighting.
‘There will definitely be skirmishes between the various factions, and these spasms of violence could last for years,’ said Carlos Olivo, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge and an expert in CJNG.
A firefighter extinguishes a burning bus set on fire by organized crime groups on Sunday
A burnt-out truck collapsed to the ground on a highway in Jalisco
A view of the site where Mexican Army troops killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho,’ leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion
Yet Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stressed that activities in most areas of the country were proceeding as usual, even as schools in various states across Mexico protectively canceled classes for Monday.
The Mexican president has been facing increased pressure from the Trump administration to intensify her offensive against drug cartels blamed for producing and smuggling drugs, particularly the synthetic opioid fentanyl, across the border to the US.
In January, following the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump even declared that ‘the cartels are running Mexico,’ and warned ‘we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels.’
Sheinbaum has said she would strengthen efforts to cooperate with the US to fight cartels, but vowed to uphold Mexico’s sovereignty and warned against any unilateral military action by the US in Mexico.
