Violence continues across Mexico after ‘El Mencho’ killed in military operation

Incidents continue to be reported across parts of Mexico after government forces killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.

New incidents are continuing late Sunday and into early Monday, including arson attacks in the western states of Jalisco, Michoacán and Colima, local media report. Targets have included a bank, a department store and several convenience stores that were vandalized or set on fire.

The unrest began Sunday after the Mexican military carried out an operation in the Tapalpa area of Jalisco, resulting in Oseguera Cervantes’ death. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the U.S. provided intelligence support for the operation.

Oseguera Cervantes led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations and a major trafficker of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States. The Trump administration has designated the cartel as a terrorist organization.

Within hours of his death, cartel members began torching vehicles and businesses and blocking highways in Jalisco before similar attacks spread nationwide.

Mexico’s Security Cabinet said 252 road blockades have been recorded across the country, along with dozens of arson attacks and armed incidents in 19 of Mexico’s 32 states, stretching from border areas near Tijuana to the Caribbean coast around Cancún.

In the Guadalajara metropolitan area, vehicles and stores were set on fire in commercial districts and along major roadways. In Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for U.S. tourists, thick smoke rose over parts of the city as vehicles and businesses burned.

The Jalisco state government has ordered a statewide shelter-in-place. Residents and tourists are sheltering in hotels and at the airport in Puerto Vallarta, while more than 1,000 visitors remain inside a zoo in Guadalajara.

Mexico is set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the United States and Canada, with matches beginning in June 2026, including in Jalisco. Neither FIFA nor Mexico’s federal government have indicated any change to tournament plans despite the unrest.