Mexico’s most wanted drug lord El Mencho killed in dramatic military raid, violence erupts across multiple states

Mexico’s most wanted drug lord, El Mencho, was killed in a major military operation, triggering violent cartel reprisals and raising fresh questions about security and stability across the country.

Mexican authorities announced the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, a notorious drug lord better known as El Mencho, on Monday. The death of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) marks one of the most high-profile attacks against organized crime in the Americas.

Mexican special forces shot and killed the 59-year-old drug lord during a large-scale military assault on a cartel hideout in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco on February 22, 2026, Mexican authorities confirmed.

Authorities said El Mencho was shot and wounded before dying during transport to a medical facility. The drug lord had been the target of a highly-publicized manhunt for years – and one of the US’s most wanted fugitives – with a $15 million bounty on his head.

Who Was El Mencho?

Born in 1966 in Aguililla, Michoacán, El Mencho spent time in the US during the 1980s before returning home to Mexico where he initially partnered with other traffickers.

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

At some point during the late 2000s, he went on to establish what would become the CJNG with a group of accomplices. During his time at the helm, the cartel rose through Mexico’s criminal underworld to become one of the country’s most powerful and violent gangs.

The CJNG expanded into extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, fuel theft, and drug trafficking. The group has been linked to smuggling large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the US, fueling America’s opioid epidemic.

Known for avoiding the limelight, El Mencho was rarely photographed or seen in public. He eschewed the typical persona of Mexican drug lords, making few confirmed public appearances.

Also read: Amid Venezuela attack, here are the top 6 web series based on drug smuggling, Narcos, Narcos Mexico, and…, which you can binge-watch on…

Crime wave sweeps Mexico after cartel boss’s death

In the aftermath of El Mencho’s killing, cartel members reportedly unleashed violence across several Mexican states. Setting fire to vehicles, markets, and roads in retribution for the government’s actions.

Social media users in Mexico posted images and videos of fires and gunmen blocking highways with large piles of burning debris. Gunfire could be heard in residential neighbourhoods, while airports shuttered and airlines like Air Canada halted flights to Mexico.

Videos posted online show suspected cartel members attacking electrical facilities and other infrastructure in at least eight states including Jalisco, Colima, Nayarit and Guanajuato.

Mexico City’s Mayor Eduardo Martinez also urged citizens to stay indoors in the city of Guadalajara after assailants blocked several streets and set vehicles ablaze. Guadalajara is set to host multiple games during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

At least 13 people were killed, including several cartel members and police officers, during the violence that followed the takedown of Mexico’s most wanted man.

US analysts hailed El Mencho’s killing as a significant milestone for Mexico’s embattled security forces and proof that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has ramped up its response to organized crime without sending troops into the street. The death of CJNG leader El Mencho could prove catastrophic for the cartel.

It also marks the beginning of uncertainty in Mexico’s drug war. While cartels have gone on to survive the death of their leaders in years past, the aftermath of such events often leads to retaliatory violence, fragmentation, and chaos as remaining members fight for control.