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Mexican authorities have killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, striking the country’s biggest blow against organised crime in a decade as the US piles pressure on Mexico to act against narco bosses.
Nemesio Oseguera, known as El Mencho, died on Sunday in an operation in Jalisco state led by security secretary Omar García Harfuch, a government official confirmed.
Oseguera, 59, turned the CJNG into one of Mexico’s two most powerful crime groups, alongside the Sinaloa Cartel, expanding its reach across most of the country and taking a lead role in trafficking drugs, including fentanyl, to the US.
His demise comes amid intense pressure from US President Donald Trump for Mexico to crack down on cartel leaders. Trump has used the countries’ crucial trade links as leverage and even floated possible US intervention on Mexican soil.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has dramatically increased operations against the cartels, ending the so-called “hugs not bullets” policy adopted by her predecessor, which experts blame for allowing the expansion of crime groups.
“This is one of the biggest achievements in the government’s fight against organised crime in the last 20 years,” said Armando Vargas, leader of the security programme at think-tank Mexico Evalua.
“The timing is strategic, sending a powerful message to the US about the government’s commitment to weakening organised crime,” he added, ahead of a review of the USMCA trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada.
Members of CJNG unleashed a wave of violent roadblocks and car burnings across Jalisco state following news of Oseguera’s death.
Mexican security experts compared the episodes to violence that followed the 2024 capture of Sinaloa cartel boss Ismael “el Mayo” Zambada, which later evolved into an all-out turf war in Sinaloa state between factions of the group.
Oseguera was a top target of the US Drugs Enforcement Administration, which offered $15mn for his capture. His death is the most important act against a cartel leader since the arrest of Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán in 2014, analysts said.
The CJNG also plays a major role in fuel theft, arms trafficking and extortion.
Whether the violence in Jalisco expands will depend on “what kind of succession lines are in place and how much they’re honoured or disregarded,” said Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of Brookings’ initiative on non-state armed actors.
“We could see violence really spreading across Mexico, and potentially even beyond,” she added.
“Or if it’s pretty quickly announced who is the new leader and everyone kisses the ring, then the extent of the violence and the impact on the criminal landscape can be more limited.”