Capture of El Mencho in Mexico leads to violence in areas controlled by CJNG

Burnt cars, roadblocks, and attacks across the country after the killing of one of Mexico's most notorious kingpins

Mexican security forces killed the head of Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.”

El Mencho was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, on Sunday, and later died of his wounds.

The killing set off a wave of attacks across the country as CJNG forces retaliated by burning cars and blocking highways in more than a dozen states, and reportedly staged attacks on security force infrastructure.

Multiple airlines cancelled flights into Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus told residents to stay home and suspended public transportation. Public schools have also been cancelled in half a dozen states.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo later urged people to remain “calm,” saying on social media that“in most parts of the country, activities are proceeding normally”.

Despite the growing wave of chaos across the country, the US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, welcomed news of the capture of El Mencho, calling him “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins” in Mexico.

Mexican security forces stated that the operation to capture El Mencho was carried out partly based on information provided by the US.

The CJNG is widely considered to be the most powerful organized crime group in Mexico. The FBI blames them for the majority of Fentanyl and methamphetamine entering the US.

The Mexican operation occurred as the government of US President Donald Trump pressured Sheinbaum to take strong actions on security issues within the country.

But the operation was also personal for Mexican security forces. El Mencho allegedly ordered an attack on Secretary of Public Security, Omar Garcia Harfuch in 2020.

Social media was flooded on Sunday with images of CJNG gunmen in the streets, and of resorts surrounded by the smoke of burning cars. False reports also spread like wildfire, and many reports of CJNG violence were exaggerated or simply false, such as claims on social media that gunmen had attacked the airport in Guadalajara.

Nonetheless, some Mexican media reported that CJNG erected more than 200 blockades across the country. The scale of disruption surprised even many experts.

The US has long employed the “kingpin strategy” in Latin America, hoping to disrupt criminal networks by capturing leaders of large organizations.

In practice, however, it rarely works out that way. The capture or killing of “kingpins” occasionally weakens criminal structures, but it is much more common that another member of the organization simply assumes power — often after a wave of violence caused by displays of power or infighting.

This is the story to watch this week in Latin America. Adam Issacson, from the Washington Office on Latin America put it like this: “We can short-term (or maybe more than a short-term) spike in violence after today’s killing of organized crime boss Nemesio Oseguera in Mexico. The country’s most powerful cartel could fragment. Competitors may see an opportunity.”

Will the capture of El Mencho lead to long-term security gains in Mexico? That remains to be seen.

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