Battles between cartels and security officials have broken out in multiple cities across Mexico after a top drug kingpin was killed by the military.
Mexico descends into violence after Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ killed in Mexican army operation.
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— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 23, 2026
On Sunday, Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense announced that its special forces had killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as ‘El Mencho’, the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Cervantes died from his wounds as a result of a military operation to capture him in the town of Tapalpa.
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The cartel responded by blocking roads and attacking patrol vehicles. Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro declared a state of emergency. The violence has quickly spread to the states of Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Colima, and Oaxaca.
Videos posted to social media show burning vehicles and gunmen on the streets. All flights in and out of the airports of Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara have been suspended.
Graphic videos from the scene show wounded security officials and destroyed patrol vehicles, as well as bodies lying on the ground.
Footage from inside Guadalajara Airport, Mexico’s third largest, shows people running in fear as gunshots go off in the distance.
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Another video shows armed men in body armor pulling up to a gas station in Guadalajara and setting it ablaze.
The US Embassy in Mexico has issued a security alert for the country, urging US citizens to seek shelter, avoid crowds, and be careful.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to remain calm and stay informed. “In the vast majority of the country, activities are proceeding normally,” she wrote on X.
A US defense official told CBS News that the US played a role in the raid against El Mencho through a joint anti-cartel task force set up by the Mexican military and the US Northern Command. The official described the raid as “a Mexican military operation.”
