The criminal underworld has experienced a massive earthquake this week, and the aftershocks are being felt all the way to the White House, all thanks to el Mencho.
For years, the internet has been swarming with the same anxious questions: is el mencho alive, and if so, where is el mencho now? Today, those questions finally have concrete answers. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, universally known as El Mencho, the brutal mastermind behind the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), is gone. Following a massive raid that turned the streets of Jalisco into a warzone, the reign of Mexico’s most feared drug lord has come to a violent end.
The Takedown
To understand the magnitude of this event, you first have to ask: who is el mencho? He was the undisputed leader of the CJNG, arguably the most powerful, heavily armed, and fastest-growing criminal organization on the planet. With a $15 million U.S. bounty on his head, El mencho’s net worth estimated in the billions, he was the ghost that law enforcement could never quite catch.
But over the weekend, that changed. So, is el mencho dead? Yes. The Mexican defense ministry confirmed that the cartel boss died following a highly coordinated Mexican special forces operation in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco.
Did el mencho get captured alive? Technically, yes, but only briefly. According to official reports detailing exactly what happened to el mencho, he was severely wounded during an intense firefight with military personnel. He was taken into custody but succumbed to his injuries shortly after. His body was immediately flown to Mexico City under maximum security to prevent his loyalists from attempting a violent recovery.
The Truth Social Reaction
News of El Mencho’s death spread like wildfire, but it was a post from the U.S. President that poured gasoline on the narrative.
Almost immediately after the El mencho killed headlines hit the press, Donald Trump took to Truth Social, posting a characteristically cryptic and triumphant message: “We’re winning too much, it’s just not fair! President DJT.”
This celebratory post instantly sparked intense speculation about the level of U.S. involvement in the raid. While the Mexican embassy in Washington was quick to clarify that the strike was planned and executed strictly by the Mexican special forces operation , the White House confirmed that U.S. agencies provided crucial “complementary intelligence.” The current administration has made combating narcoterrorism a cornerstone of its border policy, and taking out the man responsible for flooding American streets with fentanyl is being viewed internally as a massive geopolitical win.
The Aftermath
The fallout from the Mexican special forces operation has been swift and chaotic.
The cartel did not take the loss of their leader quietly. Retaliatory violence has erupted across at least six Mexican states, with heavily armed gunmen torching vehicles, setting up blockades, and burning local businesses. U.S. tourists in popular destinations like Puerto Vallarta have been forced to shelter in placer. History shows that when a kingpin falls, a bloody succession war usually follows. El Mencho may be gone, but the empire he buil is far from dismantled.
