Mexico has been plunged into a high-intensity military conflict since the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The kingpin was slain on Sunday, February 22, 2026, in a high-stakes military operation at his native town of Tapalpa, Jalisco. His death heralds a rash of “narcoblockades,” arson attacks and open urban warfare in at least a dozen Mexican states, putting the country on the brink.
The Operation: Decapitating the CJNG
That effort to take down El Mencho was a concerted effort from the Mexican Army, aided by valuable intelligence from the United States. Official accounts say that security forces encircled the 59-year-old drug lord in a rural stronghold in Jalisco. A close firefight erupted, during which El Mencho was seriously injured. His injuries reportedly killed him as he flew to a medical facility in Mexico City. The operation left six other cartel operatives dead, while several members of the Mexican National Guard were also killed or injured in the initial clashes.
Retaliation: Mexico Under Siege
The void created by El Mencho’s death was quickly filled by chaotic violence. Cartel henchmen engaged in a “scorched earth” strategy, hijacking cargo trucks, buses, and private vehicles and torching them to seize the main highways and arterials. These tactics, meant to impede the free movement of military reinforcements, have paralyzed transportation in states such as Jalisco, Guanajuato, Colima and Michoacán.
In the tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta, thickets of black smoke filled the air as convenience stores and gas stations were set ablaze. The Guadalajara International Airport became a hub for panic, with travelers scrambling for shelter in the face of what many saw as gunfire nearby. The violence has made several international airlines, including United and Air Canada, stop flying to the region.
National and International Fallout
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration has announced a "Code Red" in several states, with schools suspended and residents told to shelter in place. The US State Department and the Canadian government have published urgent travel advisories, warning of “unpredictable and widespread” violence.
The killing is viewed as a landmark victory for the Mexican government and a strategic gesture toward the Trump administration, which has recently singled out the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization. But security analysts warn that the “decapitation” of the CJNG may spark a bloodbath of competing factions or a splintered “war of the factions,” a conflict that could engulf Mexico for years to come.
