Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was shot dead by security forces.
One of the world’s most wanted drug lords has been killed by Mexican security forces.
The former policeman Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, was shot and killed on Sunday in the state of Jalisco, The Guardian reports.
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The 59-year-old mobster was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has become Mexico’s most powerful and notorious criminal organization. The United States had put out a reward of 15 million dollars to get hold of the drug lord.
According to Reuters, which refers to a statement from the Mexican Embassy in the United States, American authorities provided information that was useful for the operation.
Kaos
The murder has sparked chaos in large parts of Mexico. Burning vehicles and roadblocks have been reported in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacán and Tamaulipas, writes El PaÃs.
The US welcomes the killing of the cartel leader and calls it “a great development both for Mexico, the US, Latin America and the rest of the world”.
– It is with sadness and concern that I look at the scenes of violence in Mexico, writes US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on X.
Jalisco state governor Pablo Lemus Navarro urged the state’s eight million residents to stay at home “until the situation is under control.” Public transport has been suspended and people are advised not to travel on the roads due to the “violent incidents”.
Powerful and brutal
The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of 59-year-old El Mencho.
The Jalisco New Generation cartel was formed by the former police officer in 2011 and is today considered one of the most powerful and fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico.
The cartel has also distinguished itself by carrying out extensive attacks against government forces, and has used both helicopters, drones and land mines in the attacks.
The US Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers the cartel to be as powerful as the more well-known Sinaloa cartel, which today has a presence in all 50 US states.
Making billions
The Jalisco New Generation cartel is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the US market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Oseguera Cervantes has been heavily involved in drug trafficking since the 1990s and in 1994 was sentenced to three years in prison in California for heroin trafficking. After his release, he moved back to Mexico.
The US welcomes the killing of the cartel leader and calls it “a great development both for Mexico, the US, Latin America and the rest of the world”.
– It is with sadness and concern that I look at the scenes of violence in Mexico, writes US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on X.
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