Profile of 'El Mencho', the Drug Cartel Boss Whose Death Plunged Mexico into Turmoil
Nemesio Oseguera, the boss of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was shot dead by Mexican soldiers. The man, who died at the age of 59, was known as ‘El Mencho’.
According to AFP on Monday (23/2/2026), Oseguera was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in the state of Jalisco, on Sunday (22/2) local time. He died whilst being airlifted to Mexico City.
Oseguera was regarded as the last drug lord who operated with the flamboyant and brutal style of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, both of whom are now imprisoned.
Oseguera was born in Aguililla, a town in the western Mexican state of Michoacan. The area serves as a gateway to rugged mountain territory where illegal marijuana plantations thrived during his childhood.
As a young man, Oseguera emigrated to the United States, where he was arrested, imprisoned and deported for heroin trafficking.
After returning to Mexico, he joined the Milenio criminal cartel. Internal feuding subsequently forced him out of Michoacan, as one faction allied with Los Zetas, a group founded by former elite soldiers who spread terror across the region.
In 2009, together with the Sinaloa cartel, he formed the Matazetas (Zeta Killers). The cartel gained notoriety two years later after killing dozens of people linked to the group.
Founding of CJNG
Oseguera subsequently broke away to establish CJNG. Following the extradition of Guzman and Zambada to the United States, he transformed his cartel into the most powerful in Mexico.
The group maintained an extensive network of hitmen and even manufactured its own weapons. It expanded into several Mexican states.
Last year, the US State Department designated CJNG as a terrorist organisation. The US accused CJNG of illegal fentanyl trafficking, migrant smuggling, extortion, oil and mineral theft, and arms dealing.
Jose Reveles, an author specialising in the drug trade, told AFP that Oseguera possessed a ‘violent nature’ and did not hesitate to challenge all levels of government, unlike other cartels that tended to use violence defensively.
Attack on Mexico City’s Police Chief
In 2020, Oseguera ordered an unprecedented attack on the then Mexico City Police Chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch, wounding him and killing three others. Garcia Harfuch now serves as the country’s head of public security.
In 2015, during a wave of terror in Jalisco, CJNG members ambushed national gendarmerie personnel and state police convoys on highways, using RPG weapons to shoot down a military helicopter.
Dozens were killed in the attacks, including 20 police officers and nine soldiers.
Personal Life
Oseguera married Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia in the 1990s. The couple had three children before divorcing.
Gonzalez Valencia was released from prison last year after reportedly serving a sentence related to suspicious payments connected to a car wash she owned. Her current whereabouts are unclear.
His eldest son, Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, known as ‘El Menchito’, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States last year for drug and firearms offences.
Killed in Mexican Military Operation
Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera was killed by Mexican soldiers on Sunday (22/2). The death of the influential drug lord triggered a wave of violence across various parts of the country, with roads blockaded and a number of flights cancelled.
In the aftermath of Oseguera’s death, gunmen retaliating against the operation blocked more than 20 roads in the western state of Jalisco, including Tapalpa, with burning cars and lorries.
The violence subsequently spread to other states. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens to remain calm and said the federal government was coordinating with state authorities.
The United States and Canada issued travel warnings for Mexico following the unrest triggered by the killing of prominent drug lord El Mencho by Mexican soldiers.
“Due to ongoing and expanding security operations and related roadblocks and criminal activity in many areas of Mexico, US citizens should shelter in place until further notice,” read a statement from the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the US State Department, posted on the social media platform X.