US President Donald Trump once again demanded from Mexico this Monday (23) a greater effort to combat cartels and drug trafficking, one day after the death of drug trafficker Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The White House leader cited an interview by former acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Derek Maltz, on Fox News, in which he declared that the current catastrophic situation in Mexico should serve as a “warning to the world about the treachery of the Mexican cartels.”
Trump stated in his Truth Social profile that “Mexico needs to intensify its efforts against cartels and drugs!”, something he has been saying since last year, when his government launched an operation to combat drug trafficking and cartels that send drugs to the USA.
American intelligence provided relevant information for this weekend’s operation organized by Mexican security forces. The U.S. maintained an active bounty on El Mencho, whom it accused of leading a “reign of terror” in Mexico and destroying “countless lives” through fentanyl trafficking. They offered up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, reported this Monday that 25 members of the National Guard were killed on Sunday during the violent clashes that shook several states after the death of the drug trafficker. He added that the operation resulted in the deaths of at least 30 members of the cartel targeted by the agents.
27 attacks against security forces were recorded, six of which occurred in Jalisco (western Mexico), where 25 soldiers, a prison guard and a member of the State Attorney General’s Office were killed. Additionally, in Michoacán, the neighboring state of Jalisco, there were 15 armed attacks in which 15 members of state and local security forces were injured.
Inside the operation that resulted in El Mencho’s death
The Mexican military operation that culminated in the death of drug trafficker El Mencho was the result of a complex intelligence process in which, according to the Mexican government, information provided by the US made it possible to locate the criminal and arrest him after an armed confrontation.
One of the key points of the operation was the monitoring of a companion of the cartel leader for months. The criminal was located last Friday in a property in the city of Tapalpa, in the state of Jalisco, in the west of the country, a region considered a historic stronghold of the CJNG.
Military intelligence also identified one of his romantic partners at the site, who left the complex the day before the operation, while El Mencho remained with his security team. At that moment, the decision was made to carry out the military operation to capture him.
The operation, led by the Mexican Army, with the participation of the National Guard and special forces, had air support from six helicopters and several planes.
The objective of the entire operation was “to achieve the element of surprise and take the initiative”, as stated by the Secretary of Defense, without providing details on the exact number of soldiers involved in the operation.
The Air Force confirmed the presence of El Mencho at the scene, against whom there were two arrest warrants for involvement in organized crime. Upon detecting the military presence, the armed group accompanying the cartel leader opened fire in an attack described as “very violent”, which was repelled by Mexican forces. Eight people involved in the shooting were killed and three soldiers were injured.
After the initial exchange of gunfire, the drug dealer and his security team fled to a wooded area, where they hid in the undergrowth. Military personnel located them and established a perimeter to prevent their escape.
When they found themselves cornered, they opened fire again on the National Guard and Armed Forces personnel, in an attack that hit an Army helicopter, which was shot at and forced to make an emergency landing at a nearby military installation.
Finally, after an intense exchange of fire, the military repelled this second armed attack, wounding El Mencho and two of his bodyguards. In the operation, security forces seized several weapons, including Russian-made RPG rocket launchers, the same model used in 2015 in the crash of a helicopter that killed seven Mexican soldiers.
After the drug trafficker’s arrest, he was taken to a medical center in Morelia (Michoacán), but ended up dying before arriving there due to the severity of his injuries, as explained by General Trevilla.
