Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T

Feb. 22, 2026, 5:15 PM EST / Updated Feb. 22, 2026, 11:41 PM EST / Source: The Associated PressBy The Associated Press, George Solis, Laura Strickler and Garrett HaakeListen to this article with a free account00:0000:00

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico's most powerful cartel and thrusting swaths of the country into chaos.

The drug lord was the Mexican government's biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration in its efforts to crack down on the cartels, and his death was met with a forceful reaction from the cartel, known by its Spanish initials, CJNG.

Cars burned out by cartel members blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states and left smoke billowing into the air. Jalisco's capital, Guadalajara, was turned into a ghost town Sunday night as civilians hunkered down. School was canceled Monday in several states.

Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while he was being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.

Cartel a major fentanyl trafficker

During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and died later, the statement said. Two others were arrested, and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday night that the U.S. "provided intelligence support to the Mexican government in order to assist with an operation in Talpalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, in which" Oseguera Cervantes was killed.

"President Trump has been very clear — the United States will ensure narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to our homeland are forced to face the wrath of justice they have long deserved," Leavitt said.

She said the Trump administration "commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation."

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said on X that the operation was carried out by Mexican special forces "within the framework of bilateral cooperation, with U.S. authorities providing complementary intelligence."

The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel regularly works with the Mexican military through U.S. Northern Command, a U.S. defense official told NBC News. However, the official said this was a Mexican military operation and the success is Mexico's.

Two American parents who lost children to fentanyl poisoning had mixed reactions to the news of Oseguera Cervantes' death.

"It's good news to me," said Jaime Puerta, whose 16-year-old son died from fentanyl poisoning in 2020. "This will most definitely disrupt fentanyl from coming into the country as factions go to war over control of the Cartel."

Puerta, who gives presentations at the FBI Academy about the impact of fentanyl deaths, told NBC News he remains worried that someone else will soon replace "El Mencho" and that there will be more violence in Mexico.

But, he said, "as a father who lost his one and only son, regardless of whichever political party one may subscribe to, this is definitely something that was needed a long time ago and very much applauded by many in my community."

Cindy Demaio, whose daughter Rachel died from fentanyl poisoning in 2016, told NBC News she's grateful President Donald Trump has raised awareness about fentanyl.

"He has helped to stop the stigma and educate our country," she said.

But she called the eruption of violence following the cartel leader's death "very concerning," and she said, "I think Trump uses fentanyl to get what he wants," citing his actions in Venezuela.

Roadblocks and burning vehicles

The killing of Oseguera Cervantes set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles, tactics the cartels commonly use to block military operations. Videos circulating on social media showed smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco and people sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic.

While no airports have been closed, roadblocks are affecting airline operations and travelers' ability to get there, according to the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico.

On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta "due to an ongoing security situation" and advised customers not to go to their airports.

American Airlines said it is waiving change fees for certain customers traveling to, through or from Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta in the coming days. The waiver has certain eligibility requirements.

In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico's second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer's soccer World Cup.

The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places because of the security operations. Canada's embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep low profiles in Jalisco.

Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.

Telemundo News reported that Guadalajara, the second-largest city in Mexico, was paralyzed Sunday following Osegueras Cervantes' death. As of nighttime, people remained sheltered in place and stores remained closed.

Jim Beck, a Minnesotan who has been going to Puerto Vallarta for more than 20 years, told NBC News that he has always felt safe in the city, until Sunday morning.

"Today, everybody was running down the streets in panic and terror as cars were blowing up all over the place," he said.

He and his partner went out for breakfast but encountered taxis and a bus that had been blown up and were blocking the street. They hurried back to the hotel and have been under lockdown since around 10 a.m., he said.

Beck and his partner were hoping to return to the U.S. on Wednesday but are unsure they will be able to. Their hotel doesn't have a restaurant or a bar, and the food that it brought in for its guests has run out, he said. A park near the hotel that is usually bustling with activity is empty.

Without anywhere to go, he and other hotel guests watched the unrest from the rooftop.

"There was probably 20 of the different little businesses around us that we've had to watch, unfortunately, the flames and then the smoke go in the air and see this beautiful little downtown romantic zone going up in smoke. It's just been so sad," he said.

Beau Yotty, who traveled to Puerto Vallarta for a wedding, is unsure when he can return home to Arizona. His flight Sunday was canceled, the next one out isn't until Thursday, and the road to the airport is blockaded, he said.

"We don't know when we're leaving, we don't know our safety, we don't know if someone can come in in the middle of the night, we have no idea what's going on, so, we're just trying to ride it out," he told NBC News.

He said the lack of information is concerning.

"We just want to get to the airport and get home," Yotty said.

U.S. had offered up to $15 million for his capture

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico, began around 15 years ago.

In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the "kingpin" strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern, and since Trump returned to office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.

On Sunday, Sheinbaum applauded Mexican security forces and called for calm on X.

"Ever since President Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico," said David Mora, a senior analyst for Mexico at the nonprofit International Crisis Group. "This is signaling to the U.S. that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don't need U.S. troops on Mexican soil."

NBC News has previously reported, citing sources, that the Trump administration has considered a range of options for targeting Mexican drug cartels, including drone strikes or other operations carried out jointly with Mexico and even potentially unilateral action. The administration has described the cartels as a major national security threat, citing the trafficking of fentanyl and other narcotics over the southern border.

The U.S. military and the CIA have dramatically increased surveillance flights over Mexico to obtain cartel intelligence, the sources said. The flights have been conducted with Mexico's consent, Sheinbaum has said.

The U.S. has provided intelligence and at times worked closely with Mexico's police and special forces to combat the cartels in the past. The cooperation has ebbed and flowed depending on the stance of the Mexican government.

Known as aggressive cartel

The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and it is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the head of the capital's police force at the time, who is now the federal security secretary.

The Drug Enforcement Administration considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, both in U.S. custody.

Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S., where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994; he served nearly three years in prison.

After he was released from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and re-engaged in drug trafficking with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias "Nacho Coronel." After Villarreal's death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erick Valencia Salazar, alias "El 85," created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa cartel but eventually split, and for years the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.

Indicted several times in the U.S.

Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes had been indicted several times in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The most recent superseding indictment, filed April 5, 2022, charged Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the U.S. and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes was also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act with directing a continuing criminal enterprise.

Last year, people searching for missing relatives founds piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments, at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.