Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said Mexico is ‘at peace’, following mass violent outbreaks in the country after the killing of drug lord ‘El Mencho’.
The cartel boss was one of the most wanted drug traffickers in the world, and died after a military raid aided by US intelligence in Tapalpa, Jalisco State, Sky News reports.
His death sparked waves of retaliatory violence by cartel members across several regions of Mexico, with cars being set alight and roads being blocked. Over 50 people have been confirmed dead by the Mexican Government.
‘El Mencho’, or, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and was responsible for trafficking drugs into the US such as fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
The US had previously offered a $15 million reward for information that could lead to his arrest.
So, what happened during the operation?
According to the latest updates from Mexico’s security minister, Garcia Harfuch, approximately 25 National Guard members were killed in last night’s operation. 30 criminal suspects were also killed, with 70 people being arrested following their links to the violence.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico is now ‘calm’ and praises the nation’s armed forces for their work, with all of the 250+ roadblocks now cleared across the 20 affected states.
US President Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the social media platform TruthSocial. He released a series of posts, including one urging Mexico to get a tighter grip on narcotics and gang influence across the country.
He posted, “Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!”
How was ‘El Mencho’ caught?
The now-deceased ‘El Mencho’ is reported to have been caught after information from a romantic partner of the cartel leader emerged regarding his whereabouts, according to Mexico’s defence minister Ricardo Trevilla.
He revealed that the security forces were able to locate the drug lord in Jalisco as a result.
Trevilla offers his condolences to all families who were impacted by the widespread violent retaliation after El Mencho was killed.