In a major operation to tackle the rise of drug cartels, the government of Mexico led by President Claudia Sheinbaum carried out a military raid against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on Sunday. During the raid, the leader of the CJNG cartel, ‘El Mencho,’ was killed, triggering widespread violence and clashes across eight Mexican states.
El Mencho’s killing comes as a major win for the Sheinbaum government and is a plus point for Mexico’s ties with its neighbour, the United States, especially amid US President Donald Trump’s constant tariff threats.
However, the killing of the drug lord, who had a bounty worth $15 million on his head, may bring a fresh wave of violence across Mexico.
Widespread violence reported after military raid
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, aka El Mencho, was the co-founder and current leader of CJNG. As per the Mexican defence ministry, Oseguera Cervantes was wounded during the raid and died during the air lift to Mexico City.
Shortly after this death, his cartel, CJNG, has vowed retaliation and response, resorting to widespread violence across eight states. Schools have been shut, flights to and from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara have been cancelled and highways have been blocked by gunmen and torched vehicles.
As per local reports, the states of Jalisco, Michoaca, Guanjuato, Colima, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon have reported violence, clashes and blockades in the aftermath of El Mencho’s death.
El Mencho, El Chapo and El Mayo
The 59-year-old is now one of the biggest Mexican drug lords to be taken down since the capture of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael Zambada, who are in US custody.
After El Chapo’s arrest in 2016, his sons – the Chapitos – reportedly took control of the cartel. As per the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the four sons – Ivan Guzman Salazar, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez – “modernised” the cartel.
However, in July 2024, Joaquin Guzman Lopez was arrested by the US after he landed in Texas with cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. His arrest followed the arrest of his brother, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, in January 2023.
In December 2025, Guzman Lopez pled guilty to drug trafficking charges against him in a US court. As per the DEA, Lopez self-surrendered to federal authorities after arriving in Texas.
Prosecutors stated that Lopez helped trick Zambada into boarding a plane to the US in exchange for a plea deal. Lopez admitted to helping oversee the production and smuggling of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and fentanyl into the US.
Despite the win for the US and Mexico, the Sinaloa Cartel remains active and is led by Ivan Guzman Salazar and his brother Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, who currently have a $10 million bounty each.
‘Great achievement’ with consequences
Mexico’s action against the operations of drug cartels and corrupt officials has increased since Sheinbaum assumed her role as President in 2024. The process of taking down drug cartels is something Mexico has been engaged in for the past 20 years, and often with US intelligence support.
However, with the influence of drug cartels at the top levels of the government, it has been an uphill task for Mexico.
With Trump back in power, the US increased its pressure on Mexico to allow US military actions against cartels inside Mexico. However, as Mexico rejected these demands, Trump’s warning of strikes only increased, and so did his ‘trade tactics’.
El Mencho’s killing as been described as a “great achievement” for Mexico by many US officials. US officials have praise the strike as a step forward with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, saying “this is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.”
However, the drug lord’s killing has already plunged the Latin American nation into chaos, and more is expected to come.
As per Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, the Mexican cartels stand ready to retaliate – be it to a strike from the US or from its own government.
“The most likely form of retaliation is one readily available to Mexican criminal groups: to intensify pressure against Mexican politicians, government officials, police, and military installations through assassinations and bombing campaigns,” she wrote for Brookings, adding that Mexican cartels have routinely kidnapped, tortured and killed government officials, security agents and their families.
Cartels also have a history of deploying assassination operations, such as in 2020 against Omar García Harfuch, who was then Mexico City’s chief of police. He currently serves as the Secretary of Security and Civilian in the Sheinbaum administration.
Another common way cartels can retaliate, as per Vanda Felbab-Brown, is by blocking highways , roads and major crossings into the United States, which in turn will impact economic activity. Mexico on Sunday has already reported major blockades by gunmen and cartel members as retaliation for the military raid.
Attacking and torching police stations, military deployments and utilising their own personal paramilitary troopers are also other ways for the cartels to wreak havoc on Mexico.
