The Mexican government on the 22nd (local time) carried out a military operation and shot dead the globally notorious drug cartel boss.
According to the Associated Press and others, the Mexican government said that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, who leads the drug cartel "Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)," was killed after coming under attack by Mexican security forces that day.
The Mexican military engaged in a gunfight with CJNG in Tapalpa, Jalisco state in western Mexico, and Oseguera was critically wounded and died while being taken to a hospital. The Mexican military killed four people at the scene, and three Mexican soldiers were also injured.
CJNG is a major Mexican drug cartel that has smuggled cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States, and Oseguera has led CJNG for the past 10-plus years. The U.S. government had offered a $15 million reward (about 21.7 billion won) and in 2022 indicted him on charges including manufacturing and distributing fentanyl.
The operation came after the Donald Trump administration pressured Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum to toughen the crackdown on drugs. President Trump said in an interview with Fox News last month, "We are now going to start ground attacks with regard to (drug trafficking) cartels."
Initially, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessors, criticized the so-called "kingpin strategy" of removing cartel leadership, saying it could trigger violence by splintering the cartels.
The United States welcomed news of Oseguera's killing. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on his X account (formerly Twitter), "I've just heard that Mexican security forces killed El Mencho, one of the most brutal and ruthless drug kingpins," adding, "This is a tremendous step forward for Mexico, the United States, Latin America and the world."