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The world’s most wanted drug lord, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, is dead. 🚨 But instead of calm, HELL has broken loose. The Mexican army may have taken him down in February 2026, but that only set off a powder keg. What role did an OnlyFans influencer play in his downfall? Why were 10 Mexican states burning at once after his death? And who will now take the throne of the world’s most violent cartel? Follow a detailed analysis of the events that shook the entire planet.
Do you think the death of the top boss will ever actually stop the cartel, or is it just an endless cycle of violence where one killer replaces another? Let me know in the comments! 👇
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Do you think the death of the top boss will ever actually stop the cartel, or is it just an endless cycle of violence where one killer replaces another? Let me know in the comments! 👇
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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00:00The most powerful cartel leader who has been killed.
00:03The Mexican army says it has killed the leader of the country's most powerful drug cartel.
00:09The most violent and fastest-growing drug organizations in recent times.
00:13In the shadowy underbelly of global organized crime,
00:16few names evoked as much terror as Nemezio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes,
00:22better known as El Mencho.
00:25On February 22nd, 2026, the world woke to the shocking news.
00:30The most feared drug lord on the planet was dead,
00:33not captured in a high-stakes raid like his predecessors.
00:37Mexico is feeling the wrath of a powerful drug cartel
00:40after an army operation resulted in the death of its leader, known as El Mencho.
00:45He was one of the most wanted men in both Mexico and the United States.
00:49His killing has sparked violence across the country,
00:51resulting in dozens of deaths, including several Mexican National Guard troops.
00:55Not arrested after years of evasion,
00:58but killed in a brutal firefight with Mexican forces.
01:01This wasn't just any takedown.
01:03El Mencho carried a staggering $15 million bounty from the U.S. State Department,
01:08making him one of the most wanted men alive.
01:11His death sent immediate shockwaves through Mexico,
01:14igniting a firestorm of violence that engulfed over 10 states in a matter of hours.
01:19Highways were barricaded with flaming vehicles, airports ground to a halt.
01:27Eyewitnesses shared footage on social media of people panicking at this airport
01:31in the Mexican state of Jalisco, as vehicles were set on fire outside.
01:37A wave of violence spread across Mexico after a special forces raid
01:41killed drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho.
01:46Once-bustling cities transformed into eerie ghost towns as civilians hunkered down in fear.
01:53This isn't the plot of a Hollywood thriller or a dramatized Netflix series.
01:58It's the raw, unfiltered reality that unfolded yesterday.
02:02Videos flooded social media.
02:04Panicked tourists sprinting through Puerto Vallarta's airport terminals
02:08as smoke billowed from the torched cars nearby.
02:11Empty streets in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city,
02:16where the hum of daily life was replaced by the crackle of gunfire and sirens.
02:20The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, CJNG,
02:25the ruthless empire El Mencho built from the ground up,
02:28activated a pre-planned retaliation protocol,
02:31turning grief and rage into coordinated chaos.
02:34But why such an explosive response?
02:37And what does this mean for a nation already scarred by decades of cartel warfare?
02:42As the dust settles, or rather, as the fires rage,
02:46what comes next could eclipse the horrors El Mencho inflicted during his reign.
02:51His death doesn't signal the end of an era.
02:54It might just be the spark that ignites a far deadlier one.
02:58Alex González-Ormerot is a journalist who writes about Mexican politics on the substack,
03:02The Mexican Political Economist.
03:04Alex, welcome to DW.
03:06You wrote today that the killing of Mexico's biggest cartel boss,
03:09and I'm quoting you here, isn't necessarily good news.
03:12What exactly are you concerned about here?
03:15Today we're diving deep into one of the most seismic events in the annals of the global war on drugs.
03:20The death of El Mencho, the iron-fisted leader of the CJNG,
03:25and the cascading violence that has gripped Mexico in its wake.
03:29This isn't merely a story of one man's demise.
03:32It's a stark reminder of the fragile balance in a country where criminal empires rival the state in power and
03:39influence.
03:40For years, El Mencho orchestrated a syndicate that flooded the United States with fentanyl,
03:46methamphetamine, and cocaine,
03:48generating billions annually while leaving a trail of bodies in Mexico.
03:52The DEA-equated CJNGs reached to that of the infamous Sinaloa cartel,
03:58with operations spanning all 50 U.S. states and extending into over 40 countries worldwide.
04:04What many outsiders fail to grasp is that eliminating a cartel kingpin like El Mencho doesn't extinguish the fire.
04:12It fans the flames.
04:13History is littered with examples.
04:15The capture of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman in 2016 didn't dismantle Sinaloa.
04:22It fractured it into warring factions,
04:25sparking internecine battles that claimed thousands of lives and continue to this day.
04:30Similarly, El Mencho's death leaves a gaping power vacuum in CJNG,
04:35an organization he molded into a hyper-violent, technologically savvy beast.
04:40With no obvious successor, his family members largely imprisoned or in hiding,
04:46regional bosses are already jockeying for control,
04:49potentially unleashing a wave of bloodshed that could dwarf previous cartel wars.
04:54We'll unpack this story layer by layer.
04:56From El Mencho's humble origins in rural Mexico,
05:00to his ascent as a criminal mastermind,
05:02the meticulously planned operation that led to his demise,
05:06bolstered by U.S. intelligence,
05:08the immediate orchestrated retaliation that paralyzed the nation,
05:12and crucially, the uncertain future ahead.
05:15As Mexico braces for what's next,
05:17with the 2026 FIFA World Cup looming,
05:21and Guadalajara set to host matches,
05:23the stakes couldn't be higher.
05:25This isn't just about drugs or crime.
05:27It's about the soul of a nation teetering on the edge.
05:30Who was El Mencho?
05:33Nemesio Rubén Oseguera.
05:36Cervantes was born on July 17, 1966,
05:40in the impoverished rural town of Aguililla, Michoacán,
05:44a rugged, mountainous region in western Mexico,
05:47known for its avocado groves, lime orchards,
05:50and, increasingly, as a hotbed for drug cultivation.
05:54Growing up in a farming family amid poverty,
05:57young Nemesio dropped out of primary school
06:00to help tend the fields,
06:02harvesting avocados and, like many in the area,
06:05dabbling in marijuana cultivation.
06:07Michoacán's Tierra Caliente, or Hot Land,
06:11was fertile ground for illicit activities,
06:13with poppy fields for heroin
06:15and marijuana plantations dotting the landscape.
06:18By his late teens,
06:20El Mencho had already brushed with criminality,
06:22a path that would define his life.
06:24In the 1980s, seeking better opportunities,
06:28El Mencho illegally immigrated to the United States,
06:31settling in California.
06:32There, he immersed himself in the drug trade,
06:35starting small with marijuana sales
06:37before escalating to heroin distribution.
06:41His first documented arrest came in 1986 in San Francisco
06:46for drug-related offenses,
06:48followed by another in 1992
06:50for selling heroin to undercover officers in a bar.
06:54Convicted in 1994 for conspiracy to distribute heroin
06:58in the U.S. District Court
06:59for the Northern District of California,
07:01he served nearly three years in prison
07:04before being deported back to Mexico
07:06in the mid-1990s.
07:08This cycle of migration, arrest, and deportation
07:12hardened him,
07:13providing invaluable lessons in evading authorities
07:16and navigating cross-border networks.
07:19Back in Mexico,
07:20El Mencho didn't retreat to farming.
07:22Instead, he dove headfirst into organized crime.
07:25He joined the Millennial Cartel,
07:27a Michoacán-based group
07:29allied with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel,
07:31where he quickly rose through the ranks
07:33due to his ruthlessness and strategic acumen.
07:37Interestingly,
07:38before fully committing to the cartel life,
07:40El Mencho briefly served as a police officer
07:43in the municipalities of Cabo Corrientes
07:46and Tomatlan in Jalisco.
07:48This stint gave him insider knowledge
07:50of law enforcement tactics,
07:52how patrols operated,
07:53how intelligence was gathered,
07:55and where vulnerabilities lay.
07:57He used this to his advantage,
07:59staying steps ahead of authorities for decades.
08:01The turning point came in the late 2000s.
08:04The Millennial Cartel,
08:06fractured after the arrest of its leader,
08:08Oscar Orlando Nava Valencia,
08:11El Lobo,
08:12and the death of Sinaloa capo Ignacio Nacho,
08:16coronel in 2010.
08:18From the ashes emerged two factions,
08:21La Resistencia and Los Torcidos.
08:24El Mencho aligned with Los Torcidos,
08:27which evolved into the CJNG around 2009.
08:31He co-founded it with Eric Valencia Salazar,
08:34L85,
08:35and allied it with the financial powerhouse Los Queenis,
08:38run by his brother-in-law,
08:40Abigail González Valencia,
08:42El Queeni.
08:43El Mencho married Rosalinda González Valencia in 1996.
08:48Tying his fate to this influential family,
08:51they had three children,
08:53Ruben,
08:54El Menchito,
08:55Jessica Johanna,
08:56La Negra,
08:57and Laisha.
08:59Under El Mencho's leadership,
09:01CJNG diverged from traditional cartel models.
09:04While outfits like Sinaloa relied on corruption,
09:08alliances,
09:08and subtle negotiation,
09:10CJNG embraced pure, overwhelming violence as its core strategy.
09:16They didn't avoid confrontations,
09:18they sought them.
09:20CJNG pioneered explosive drones and cartel warfare,
09:24years before such tactics made global headlines in conflicts like Ukraine.
09:29They ambushed military convoys,
09:31planted roadside mines,
09:33and downed helicopters with rocket launchers.
09:36In 2015,
09:38they killed 15 police officers in a Michoacan ambush
09:41and besieged Guadalajara with narco blockades,
09:45hijacking buses and setting them ablaze to paralyze the city.
09:50CJNG's brutality was performative,
09:53designed to instill terror.
09:54In 2011,
09:56as Los Marazetas,
09:58Zetas Killers,
10:00they dumped 35 tortured bodies in Veracruz
10:03to declare war on the rival Los Zetas cartel.
10:06Mass graves with hundreds of victims surfaced in Jalisco,
10:10earning the state the grim moniker of
10:12One Big Mass Grave.
10:14In 2020,
10:16CJNG operatives attempted to assassinate Mexico City's police chief,
10:21Omar Garcia Harfuch,
10:23in broad daylight with grenades and high-caliber rifles.
10:27They targeted judges,
10:29politicians,
10:29and even former governors,
10:31like the 2020 murder of Aristoteles Sandoval.
10:36Economically,
10:38CJNG was a juggernaut.
10:40Controlling key ports like Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas,
10:44they smuggled precursor chemicals from China
10:47for fentanyl and meth production,
10:49then trafficked the finished products north.
10:51The cartel diversified into extortion,
10:54fuel theft,
10:55known as huachicoleo,
10:57human smuggling,
10:58and even avocado racketeering in Michoacan.
11:01By 2026,
11:02CJNG operated in all 32 Mexican states,
11:06with franchises allowing local gangs to use their brand for a fee.
11:10Globally,
11:11they spanned Latin America,
11:13Europe,
11:14Asia,
11:14and Africa,
11:16generating up to $10 billion annually.
11:19The U.S. Treasury sanctioned dozens of CJNG-linked entities,
11:23and the DEA estimated their U.S. presence rivaled Sinaloa's.
11:28El Mencho himself was a ghost,
11:30constantly moving through Jalisco's mountains,
11:33protected by armored vehicles,
11:35and a network of corrupt officials.
11:38Indicted multiple times in U.S. courts since 2017,
11:42he evaded capture through paranoia and innovation,
11:45like using encrypted communications and drone surveillance.
11:48His family played key roles,
11:50El Menchito as second-in-command,
11:53extradited to the U.S. in 2020,
11:56La Negra handling money laundering,
11:58imprisoned in 2021,
12:00and his brothers aiding operations,
12:02most now in custody.
12:04Yet,
12:05for all his power,
12:06El Mencho's empire rested on fear,
12:09not loyalty,
12:10a fragility that would prove fatal.
12:12How he was killed.
12:41The operation that fell
12:42U.S. authorities,
12:43including the CIA and DEA,
12:46who had tracked El Mencho's movements for months.
12:49Intelligence pinpointed his location through a vulnerability,
12:52a visit from his girlfriend,
12:54an OnlyFans influencer named Mariah Ulyssa.
12:58Reports vary.
12:59Some claim she betrayed him for immunity,
13:01others that she was unknowingly followed,
13:04or her communications intercepted.
13:06Fake A.
13:07Eye-generated images later circulated online,
13:11depicting her with El Mencho,
13:12fueling misinformation and threats against her.
13:15Regardless,
13:16this personal indiscretion exposed his safe house,
13:19a fortified compound in the Sierra Madre Occidental.
13:23As troops approached,
13:24CJNG gunmen opened fire,
13:27unleashing a fierce gun battle.
13:29Four cartel members died on sight,
13:31their bodies riddled with bullets amid the chaos.
13:34El Mencho was gravely wounded,
13:36shot multiple times in the torso and legs,
13:40incapacitating him.
13:41Two more CJNG operatives were captured alive.
13:45Mexican forces seized a trove of military-grade hardware,
13:49armored vehicles,
13:50rocket launchers,
13:51machine guns,
13:52and explosive drones.
13:54Three soldiers were injured,
13:56but survived after medical evacuation.
13:59El Mencho was airlifted toward Mexico City for interrogation,
14:02but he succumbed to his wounds en route,
14:05bleeding out mid-flight.
14:06The Mexican Defense Secretariat confirmed his death publicly,
14:10releasing photos of his body for verification.
14:13U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau
14:16tweeted his congratulations,
14:18hailing it as,
14:19a great development for Mexico,
14:22the U.S.,
14:23Latin America,
14:23and the world.
14:25President Claudia Scheinbaum lauded the forces,
14:28emphasizing absolute coordination
14:30between federal and state governments,
14:32and urged the calm.
14:34This raid wasn't isolated.
14:36It reflected escalating U.S. pressure under President Trump,
14:39who designated six Mexican cartels,
14:42including CJNG,
14:44as foreign terrorist organizations in 2025.
14:48Trump's threats of tariffs,
14:50military intervention,
14:51and even labeling fentanyl,
14:53a weapon of mass destruction,
14:55compelled Mexico to act.
14:57A new U.S. joint interagency task force counter cartel,
15:01launched in January 2026,
15:04provided real-time intelligence,
15:06mapping cartel networks across borders.
15:08Mexico had already extradited El Mencho's brother,
15:12Antonio Oseguera Cervantes,
15:15in 2025,
15:17weakening the family structure.
15:18Yet,
15:19as celebrations echoed in Washington,
15:21calm in Mexico evaporated almost instantly.
15:25The violence that followed.
15:27El Mencho's death confirmation
15:29triggered CJNG's retaliation protocol,
15:33a pre-orchestrated symphony of destruction
15:35honed from past operations.
15:37Within hours,
15:39cartel cells activated across more than 10 states.
15:41Jalisco,
15:42Colima,
15:43Michoacan,
15:44Nayarit,
15:45Guanajuato,
15:47Tamaulipas,
15:48Veracruz,
15:49Zacatecas,
15:50Sonora,
15:51and Baja California.
15:52Operatives hijacked vehicles,
15:55doused them in gasoline,
15:56and set them ablaze to create narco blockades,
15:59a signature tactic to impede military reinforcements
16:03and assert dominance.
16:04Guadalajara,
16:05Chalisco's vibrant capital,
16:07and a 2026 World Cup host city,
16:10ground to a halt.
16:11Streets usually teeming with vendors,
16:13traffic,
16:14and tourists emptied as residents barricaded indoors.
16:17Governor Enrique Alfaro declared a
16:19code-red emergency,
16:21suspending public transport,
16:23closing schools through Monday,
16:24and advising,
16:26stay home.
16:28Social media exploded with videos of burning buses
16:31and trucks blocking highways,
16:34smoke choking the skyline.
16:35In Puerto Vallarta,
16:37a tourist hotspot,
16:39flames licked the airport perimeter,
16:41forcing airlines like Air Canada,
16:43Delta,
16:43Southwest,
16:44and Alaska
16:45to cancel flights and issue waivers.
16:47Panicked travelers shared footage of sprinting through terminals amid gunfire echoes.
16:53The violence escalated beyond property damage.
16:56During the Tapaupa raid,
16:58a National Guard member perished.
17:01In Zapopan,
17:02near Guadalajara,
17:04six more guardsmen were ambushed and killed.
17:06A prison riot in Puerto Vallarta claimed a guard's life,
17:10while a state prosecutor's agent was assassinated in Colima.
17:13By day's end,
17:15over 25 security personnel lay dead,
17:18with cartel casualties numbering around 30.
17:21Misinformation amplified the terror.
17:24Fake AI images and viral posts exaggerated the chaos,
17:28depicting war zones in peaceful areas,
17:30and inciting online harassment.
17:33The U.S. Embassy issued shelter-in-place advisories for Americans in affected states,
17:38warning against travel near law enforcement activity.
17:41Globally, nations like India echoed the alerts.
17:45This wasn't unprecedented.
17:46CJNG had used similar tactics in 2015's Guadalajara siege,
17:51and 2022's response to a leader's arrest.
17:54But the scale was staggering,
17:57reflecting the cartel's franchise structure,
17:59and 15,000 to 20,000 members.
18:02What happens now?
18:04El Mencho's death thrusts Mexico into uncharted territory,
18:08where history offers grim precedence.
18:10When El Chapo was captured,
18:12Sinaloa splintered,
18:13birthing factions like the Chapitos and Mayo Zambadas group,
18:17whose turf wars persist,
18:19killing thousands.
18:21CJNG faces a similar fate,
18:23but amplified by its violent ethos.
18:25No clear air exists.
18:28El Menchito serves life in the U.S.
18:30La Negra is imprisoned,
18:32and brothers like Antonio are extradited.
18:35Potential successors include
18:36Stepson,
18:37Juan Carlos Valencia,
18:39González,
18:40El Zero,
18:41Three,
18:42Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza,
18:44Gaetan,
18:45El Sapo,
18:46or
18:47Audias Flores Silva,
18:48El Jardinero.
18:49All regional bosses whose rivalries could ignite internal strife.
18:54Experts predict short-term retaliation spikes,
18:57followed by prolonged instability.
18:59Civilian targeting,
19:01extortions,
19:02kidnappings,
19:03forced recruitment,
19:04may rise as factions consolidate power.
19:07Mass graves,
19:08public executions,
19:10and drone attacks could proliferate.
19:12Geopolitically,
19:13Trump praises the win,
19:15but warns of intervention if violence spills north.
19:17Scheinbaum's administration,
19:20under tariff threats,
19:21has ramped up arrests.
19:22But critics argue,
19:24kingpin strategy ignores root causes,
19:27U.S. gun smuggling,
19:29arming cartels,
19:30and drug demand.
19:31With the World Cup approaching,
19:33Guadalajara's role as host amplifies risks.
19:36Tourism,
19:37already hit,
19:38could plummet.
19:39Broader effects,
19:41fentanyl flows might disrupt temporarily,
19:43but rivals like Sinaloa could capitalize.
19:46Mexico's homicide rate down recently risks surging.
19:50El Mencho is dead,
19:52a fact etched in blood.
19:54Whether it's a triumph hinges on the aftermath.
19:58CJNG endures,
19:59controlling vast territories and U.S. networks.
20:02History screams that kingpin deaths reshape battlefields,
20:06not end them.
20:07Mexico awaits the first factional strike,
20:10the emerging boss,
20:12the inevitable carnage.
20:13The world watches too.
20:15Subscribe for updates.
20:17This saga is just beginning.
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