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The killing of the Jalisco Latest Generation Cartel leader, ‘El Mencho’ has sparked unrest, fires and chaos across tourist hotspots in Mexico.
‘El Mencho’, whose real name is Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, was killed within the western state of Jalisco.
His death triggered unrest and hours of roadblocks, with vehicles set ablaze across the state, including within the tourist hot spots of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.
Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city in Jalisco, and folks sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic.
Burning vehicles and organising roadblocks are commonly utilized by cartels to dam military operations.
El Mencho was wounded during an operation to capture him in Tapalpa but died while being flown to Mexico City for treatment, the Defence Department said.
The chaos which unfolded within the aftermath of his death, nevertheless, prompted major airlines, including Air Canada, to suspend flights to Puerto Vallarta and urge customers to not go to the airport.
What’s the Jalisco Latest Generation Cartel?
The Jalisco Latest Generation Cartel, generally known as CJNG, is one of the vital powerful and fastest-growing criminal organisations in Mexico and was born in 2009.
The Jalisco cartel has been one of the vital aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military – including on helicopters – and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines.
In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the guts of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.
The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful because the Sinaloa cartel, one in every of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 US states.
It’s one in every of the essential suppliers of cocaine to the US market and, just like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines.
Who’s ‘El Mencho’?
Oseguera Cervantes has been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities because the Nineties.
He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin within the US District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.
Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity.
Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
What have Mexico and the US said?
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticised the ‘kingpin’ strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured.
But since US President Donald Trump took office a yr ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to indicate results against drug trafficking.
Earlier today, it was revealed that US intelligence helped aid Mexico within the raid that killed El Mencho. It comes only a yr after the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press release: ‘President Trump has been very clear — the US will ensure narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to our homeland are forced to face the wrath of justice they’ve long deserved.’
The US State Department warned US residents in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to stay in secure places due to the continued security operations.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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