Mexico’s military found, and in trying to capture Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico , got involved in a shoot-out….
Cartel’s have responded to the situation with violenece across the country….
The Trump Admin has been pressuring Mexico to go after the cartel’s (see *Update below)….
Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said Monday 25 members of the National Guard were left dead in Jalisco in six separate attacks after the killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho” was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it.
He was killed during a shoot-out in his home state of Jalisco as the Mexican military attempted to capture him. Cartel members responded with violence across the country, blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles….
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President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm Monday and authorities said all of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states had been cleared. The president was expected to address the situation at her daily news briefing Monday morning.
The White House confirmed that the U.S. provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’s army for taking down a man who was one of the most wanted criminals in both countries.
Mexico hoped the death of the world’s biggest fentanyl traffickers would ease Trump administration pressure to do more against the cartels, but many remained hunkered down and on edge as they waited to see the powerful cartel’s reaction….
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Trump Admin….
Why it matters: President Trump has for months pressed Mexican officialsto target drug cartels and the U.S. had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — a designated terrorist organization in the United States…
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Of note: The Mexican Defense Ministry said in its X statement that “for the execution of this operation, in addition to the central military intelligence efforts, within the framework of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the USA,” American authorities provided information that assisted with the operation.
- White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed via X later Sunday that U.S. intelligence had provided “support to the Mexican government” to assist in the operation.
- The Washington Post and Reuters reported an unnamed U.S. defense official saying Mexico’s military conducted the operation “from a joint U.S.-Mexico task force that ‘regularly works'” with the Mexican military through United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which oversees American operations in both nations.
- Representatives for the Pentagon and NORTHCOM both said via Sunday evening emails they had “no information to provide” on the matter, adding: “This was a Mexican military operation and refer you back to the Mexican government for more information.”….
Update….
Mexico has quietly shipped nearly 100 suspected cartel drug traffickers to the US to stand trial charges after President Trump branded the groups foreign terrorist organizations last year — and pressured the Mexican government to cooperate.
The suspects include the brother of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes — the brutal Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) leader who was killed by the Mexican army on Sunday.
The Justice Department said many of the 92 defendants released to the Americans had US extradition requests that were not honored during the Biden administration.
“As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said of the first round of transfers which kicked off last February…
Update on the Trump admin help in the Mexican cartel story..
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Though details continue to emerge from the operation, which set off a spasm of violence that left at least 70 people dead, some of the information that led Mexican security forces to Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was delivered by a new Joint Interagency Task Force called Counter Cartel, based out of Southern Arizona.
The outfit operates out of Fort Huachuca, a military intelligence hub nestled in a rugged mountain chain 15 miles north of the U.S.–Mexico border. According to media reports, the task force, staffed by a combination of some 300 military and civilian employees, provided its Mexican counterparts with a “detailed target package” in the run-up to Sunday’s operation. The CIA also provided key support for the mission.
Existence of the task force was first revealed in a little-noticed ceremony at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, last month. Its online footprint is slight. The information that is publicly available, however, confirms deepening ties between President Donald Trump’s domestic homeland security agenda and his lethal drug war operations abroad.
Known internally as JIATF-CC, the task force is part of the U.S. Military’s Northern Command, once considered a backwater that today enjoys renewed prominence under Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. In the past year, Trump and Hegseth have used the Southern Command, NORTHCOM’s counterpart in the Western Hemisphere, as well the Pentagon’s Special Operations Command, to conduct the kinds of targeted killing missions long associated with the war on terror against targets in Latin America….
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