Mexican military kills major cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera

Mexico’s military has killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in a major escalation of the government’s campaign against organized crime. Oseguera was widely considered the country’s most powerful drug kingpin and one of the top cocaine traffickers to the United States.

Sources said on Sunday that Oseguera was killed in an operation led by the country’s military. His death marks one of the most significant blows against Mexican organized crime in recent years and comes amid intense pressure from the Trump administration to curb US-bound drug trafficking.

Oseguera, a former Mexican police officer, led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, which authorities describe as Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization. The group controls major cocaine smuggling routes into the United States and operates extensive fuel theft and other illicit schemes across Mexico and the US.

He was known for deploying sophisticated paramilitary tactics and commanding hundreds of heavily armed gunmen. Oseguera controlled large areas of territory, particularly in his home state of Jalisco, and had been expanding his influence while fighting for control of Michoacán state in western Mexico.

The United States had placed a $15 million bounty on Oseguera. Authorities said he rarely left his mountain compound, and only a few photographs of him circulated publicly. His inner security unit, known as the Special Force of the High Command, was reportedly equipped with RPG-7 shoulder-fired rocket launchers capable of piercing armored vehicles.

The killing of Oseguera follows recent violent incidents attributed to CJNG gunmen, including attacks on a Mexican National Guard base in San Juan de los Lagos in northern Jalisco and reported assaults on a prison and other sites in Puerto Vallarta.