GUADALAJARA: Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was wounded Sunday in a shootout with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said.
News of his death triggered spasms of violence, with cartel members across the country blocking roads in 20 states and torching vehicles and businesses.
At least 25 National Guard members were killed in subsequent clashes, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said.
Harfuch added that a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor’s office and 30 suspected members of Oseguera’s criminal organization were also killed.
Oseguera had a $15 million US bounty on his head.
Eight suspected cartel gunmen were killed in the special forces operation to capture him and three soldiers were wounded, Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said.
Fearful residents went into hiding, and tourists took shelter in their hotels and resorts as cartel members went on the rampage.
While US President Donald Trump had yet to respond publicly to the elimination of Oseguera, he posted briefly on his Truth Social platform: “Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!”
Although the violence appeared to be subsiding, Mexico remained on high alert.
The government sent 2,500 troops to Jalisco — a state that is scheduled to host four World Cup soccer games this summer.
The streets of Jalisco’s state capital Guadalajara were almost empty on Monday.
Schools, stores, pharmacies and gas stations remained shuttered, all events involving large crowds were cancelled and public transportation was suspended.
María Medina, who works in a gas station that was torched on Sunday, said gunmen showed up and told everyone to get out.
“I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there,” Medina told AFP.
The violence gripped the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, and spread to neighboring Michoacán state, where Oseguera’s cartel has been waging war against a rival coalition of criminal groups.
Travel warnings from Britain, Canada and the United States were issued in the fallout, with Australia urging citizens to “exercise a degree of caution” early Monday.
Washington asked US citizens to “shelter in place until further notice.”
Dozens of US and Canadian flights were cancelled.
Oseguera, 59, was considered the last of the drug lords who acted in the brutal mold of the now-imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
