Mexican forces capture El Mencho - operation sparks deadly reprisals

Mexican special forces, acting on surveillance of a romantic partner and aided by U.S. intelligence, located Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, in Jalisco on Sunday; he was wounded, taken into custody and died while being transported to Mexico City, Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla said.

Military investigators tracked a trusted associate who escorted one of Oseguera Cervantes’s romantic partners to Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Friday for a meeting, sources reported. The woman spent the night with El Mencho, and after she left special forces finalized plans having confirmed he was staying in the area with a security detail, according to Associated Press and other outlets. Trevilla said troops found the fugitive “hidden in the undergrowth” and that several shootouts followed, killing eight gunmen and wounding the cartel leader and two bodyguards. “They were taken into custody and died on the way to Mexico City,” Trevilla said.

Officials also credited U.S. intelligence with confirming the exact location. Trevilla said the operation “included U.S. intelligence information,” and AP reported he described the U.S. contribution as “very important additional information.” CBS cited a source briefed on the operation who described the raid as the culmination of intensified U.S.-Mexico counter-cartel cooperation under President Claudia Sheinbaum, with intelligence sharing expanded through joint interagency channels tied to U.S. Northern Command. The United States had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest, outlets reported.

The capture and death triggered a swift and violent backlash across Jalisco and beyond, with authorities reporting multiple attacks, roadblocks and burned vehicles as cartel operatives sought revenge. Sources differ on the scale of the fallout. The AP and Boston Globe, using AP reporting, said “more than 70 people were killed in the operation and the ensuing violence.” Reuters, citing Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, reported that at least 25 members of the National Guard died in attacks in Jalisco. Detroit News, also quoting Harfuch, said there were “27 cowardly attacks against authorities in Jalisco,” and that Harfuch reported 30 cartel operatives and one bystander killed and at least 70 arrests in seven states.

Those differing tallies underline the chaos that followed the operation and complicate efforts to assess the human cost. Reuters also reported that an official with a state attorney’s office was killed, and officials described roadblocks and retaliatory strikes that hampered movement in affected municipalities.

Beyond the immediate death toll, the violence poses acute public health and community challenges. Sudden spikes in armed attacks and blockades can impede ambulances, overwhelm emergency rooms and deepen trauma among residents already living with chronic insecurity. Local hospitals and clinics in Jalisco and neighboring states will face increased demand for urgent care and mental health support, while displaced families and disrupted supply lines raise concerns about longer term access to services.

Federal officials said they were monitoring for further retaliation and possible cartel restructuring. Harfuch warned authorities were watching closely: “We are closely monitoring for any kind of reaction or restructuring within the cartel that could lead to violence,” he said, according to Detroit News. As investigations continue, authorities in Mexico and the United States will also be assessing how expanded intelligence cooperation and tactical surveillance played a role in bringing down one of North America’s most wanted traffickers and what the capture will mean for security and public health in affected communities.