Tracking A Lover: The Intelligence Trail That Ended Mexico Drug Lord El Mencho's Reign

Last Updated:February 24, 2026, 05:59 IST

El Mencho was located in his home state of Jalisco following a coordinated special forces mission supported by US intelligence.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the powerful head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), also known as “El Mencho," was killed during a Mexican military operation in Jalisco state on Sunday.

The 59-year-old drug lord was seriously injured during a clash with security forces in the town of Tapalpa. He later died while being airlifted to Mexico City. In all, more than 70 people were killed in the operation and the ensuing violence, including security forces, suspected cartel members and others.

The killing of one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives marks a major moment in Mexico’s fight against organised crime, though authorities and analysts warn the aftermath remains uncertain.

Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said that surveillance of a romantic partner helped Mexican authorities track down and ultimately kill the notorious drug lord.

Trevilla said that Mencho was located in his home state of Jalisco following a coordinated special forces mission supported by US intelligence. The breakthrough came when the Mexican military began monitoring a trusted associate of one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners. The associate escorted the woman to the mountain town of Tapalpa on Friday, where she met with the cartel leader.

According to Trevilla, “very important additional information" provided by US intelligence confirmed the precise location. After the woman left the next day, Mexican special forces finalized their operational plans, confident that Mencho remained in the area with a security detail.

Before dawn Sunday, units from the Mexican army and Guard established a ground cordon around the wooded area near Tapalpa, while six helicopters and additional special forces units stood ready in neighboring states. The Mexican Air Force provided reconnaissance and air support.

Trevilla described the confrontation as “extremely violent." As troops advanced, heavily armed gunmen attempted to stall their progress, while Oseguera Cervantes tried to flee with two bodyguards into a wooded area dotted with cabins.

Among the weapons seized were two rocket launchers — including one identical to the model CJNG used in 2015 to shoot down a military helicopter, a landmark attack that underscored the cartel’s firepower.

Special forces eventually located Oseguera Cervantes “hidden in the undergrowth," triggering another intense firefight. Eight gunmen were killed at the scene — four more than initially reported — while the cartel leader and his two bodyguards were wounded.

During the chaos, a military helicopter was forced into an emergency landing after being struck by gunfire. Three soldiers were injured.

Unrest Followed

News of the cartel leader’s death was followed by coordinated retaliatory violence attributed to CJNG members.

Vehicles were burnt, and multiple highways across Mexican states were blocked, disrupting transportation networks.

Residents in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco and Mexico’s second-largest city, sheltered indoors as tensions escalated.

Schools were closed in several states, and security forces were placed on alert nationwide.

The unrest began in Jalisco and spread to neighbouring states, including Michoacan and Guanajuato, where suspected cartel members set buses on fire, erected road blockades and clashed with authorities.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro urged residents to remain at home and announced the suspension of public transport services until security conditions improved.

Who Was El Mencho?

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, originated from the western state of Michoacán and had been involved in organised crime for more than three decades.

After serving a prison sentence in the United States in the 1990s for heroin trafficking, he returned to Mexico and rose rapidly through the criminal underworld.

Around 2009, he founded the CJNG, which grew into Mexico’s fastest-expanding cartel, trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and migrants into the United States.

The organisation became notorious for adopting new methods of violence, including drones and improvised explosive devices.

The cartel also carried out brazen attacks against Mexican security forces, including downing a military helicopter in 2015 and attempting to assassinate then-Mexico City police chief Omar García Harfuch.

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