Mexico has deployed 10,000 troops to quell clashes sparked by the killing of the country’s most-wanted drug lord that claimed dozens of lives, officials said Monday (February 23, 2026).
Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was wounded Sunday in a shootout with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco State, and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said.
News of his death triggered spasms of violence, with cartel members blocking roads in 20 States and torching vehicles and businesses.
During the raid on Oseguera and subsequent clashes, at least 27 members of security forces, 46 suspected criminals and one civilian were killed, authorities reported.
A prison break in Jalisco saw at least 23 people escape when their jail was attacked in a hail of gunfire by “criminal groups,” according to the state security secretary.
Oseguera had a $15 million U.S. bounty on his head.
Fearful residents went into hiding and tourists took shelter in their hotels as cartel members went on the rampage over the weekend. Even as calm largely returned, many businesses remained closed Monday.
The government sent an additional 2,500 troops to Jalisco — one of the host cities in this year’s FIFA World Cup — bringing to 10,000 the troop deployment since Sunday.
In Aguillila, the birthplace of “El Mencho” in Michoacan state, residents reported blockades early Monday.
Police officers secure the area where vehicles were set on fire by organized crime members to block a road following a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho,” was killed, in Zapopan, Mexico
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Photos shared on local social media accounts showed a column of black smoke floating above the mountain village.
In Jalisco’s state capital Guadalajara, schools remained closed and most public transportation was suspended.
Large lines formed outside the few small stores that remained open, particularly tortilla shops, as anxious residents sought to stock up on supplies.
Pharmacies were closed and nearly “everything is closed,” Juan Soler, a retiree from Guadalajara, told AFP.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Maria de Jesus Gonzalez said. “Now I’m a little more calm, but a little afraid, still.”
Resort town rocked
The weekend violence also gripped the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, popular with US tourists.
Travel warnings from Britain, Canada and the United States were issued in the fallout, with Australia urging citizens to “exercise a degree of caution.”
Dozens of US and Canadian flights were cancelled.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a press conference about the wave of violence in Mexico, following the killing of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as ‘El Mencho’
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Oseguera, 59, was considered the last of the drug lords who acted in the brutal mold of the now-imprisoned Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, of the rival Sinaloa cartel.
He was a founding member of CJNG, which was formed in 2009 and has grown into one of Mexico’s most violent crime organizations.
With his son Ruben “El Menchito” Oseguera Gonzalez, 35, convicted by a federal jury in Washington in September, experts have warned the “absence of a direct succession” could lead to a power vacuum.
“That opens the door to violent realignments within the organization,” David Mora, an expert at the Crisis Group analysis center, told AFP.
Girlfriend tracked to kingpin’s location
Mexico said the operation to seize Oseguera was helped by “complementary information” from US authorities.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Washington “provided intelligence support.”
President Claudia Sheinbaum was adamant that no U.S. forces took part in the capture raid.
Key to locating Oseguera was one of his girlfriends, Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said.
Mexican intelligence, supported by the U.S. military, learned of a rendezvous between the woman and the drug lord and used that information to track him to a ranch in Jalisco State, Trevilla told reporters.
Two suspected cartel members were arrested and a variety of weapons seized during the operation, including rocket launchers capable of downing airplanes and destroying armored vehicles, the army said.
Authorities also announced the death of his right-hand man, Hugo H., known as “El Tuli.”
Washington has classified CJNG as a terrorist organization and accuses it of sending cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.
The raid came amid ongoing pressure from Trump for Mexico to stem the flow of drugs into the United States or face stiff tariffs.
Published – February 24, 2026 07:46 am IST
