00:00The death of El Mencho marks a potential political turning point for Mexico.
00:04Nemecio Osaguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel,
00:08was killed Sunday in a federal operation in Jalisco State.
00:11Six other alleged cartel members also died.
00:14Twenty-five National Guard members were killed in the clashes,
00:17Security Minister Omar García Harcourt said.
00:20Founded around 2009, the powerful Jalisco cartel
00:23became one of the largest traffickers of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the U.S.
00:27Washington had offered up to $15 million for information leading to El Mencho's capture.
00:33Sunday's operation relied in part on U.S. intelligence.
00:36Security forces in Mexico seized high-powered weapons, including rocket launchers.
00:41In the aftermath, criminal groups torched vehicles and blocked highways across western Mexico.
00:45President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm on Monday morning at her daily press conference
00:49and praised the Mexican military's actions.
01:12But the strategy of killing kingpins has long been controversial in Mexico.
01:16Critics say it leads to a fight for control of territory,
01:19and it could make the country more violent.
01:22Nevertheless, U.S. officials praised the strike as a major step forward.
01:26President Donald Trump kept up the pressure.
01:28In a social media post on Monday, he said Mexico must step up its efforts on cartels and drugs.
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