Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” Mexico’s most powerful drug lord and the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed by authorities, Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense announced on Sunday. The killing occurred at the cartel’s base in Tapalpa during an operation.
Previously, President Donald Trump spoke strongly about controlling the flow of illegal drugs from Mexico to the U.S. In this operation, U.S. authorities also provided intelligence support. The U.S. had previously announced a $15 million reward for anyone with information on “El Mencho.” The drug lord had a history of indictments in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau praised the development and posted on X, “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys.” However, “El Mencho’s” killing swiftly started violence in different parts of Mexico, with the cartels setting fire to vehicles and blocking roads in at least five states.
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Speaking about the violence, Landau said, “I’m watching the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern. It’s not surprising that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve.”
It is important to note here that Trump previously suggested military action against cartels in Mexico, saying, “Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs. There’s some big problems over there.” He then continued, “We’ve stopped the waterways, but we know every route. We know every route, we know the addresses of every drug lord.”
Trump further added, “We know their address, we know their front door. We know everything about every one of them. They’re killing our people. That’s like a war. Would I do it? I’d be proud to.”
WH: “The United States provided intelligence support to the Mexican government in order to assist with an operation in Talpalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, in which Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes, an infamous drug lord and leader within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was… https://t.co/9h6aVdGLMu
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) February 23, 2026
The President had put forward the same views during a Fox News’ interview with Sean Hannity last month, saying, “We’ve knocked out 97 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and we are going to start now hitting land. With regard to the cartels, the cartels are running Mexico. It’s very, very sad to watch and see what’s happened to that country.”
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s stance on this has been very clear on the U.S/ intervention as she said, “We do not accept an intervention by any foreign government. I’ve told him on the phone. I’ve said it with the State Department, with Marco Rubio,” as Al Jazeera reported.
She also added, “It is necessary to reaffirm that in Mexico the people rule, and that we are a free and sovereign country—cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no.” Now with “El Mencho’s” death and cartel violence breaking out throughout Mexico, it now remains to be seen how the government deals with the situation and whether the U.S. will step in again.
