The Mexican military killed the nation’s strongest cartel chief and one of many United States’ most wished fugitives. El Menchoas he’s recognized, is useless. Whereas it’s a victory for legislation enforcement, cartel members have responded with a wave of violence throughout Mexico. Right here’s what’s taking place within the aftermath of Mencho’s dying, per the Related Press.
RELATED: Mexican Cartel Leaves “Sorry” Letter Alongside 5 Crushed & Handcuffed Males For Kidnapping-Homicide Of Black People
El Mencho Dies Throughout Tried Arrest, Cartels Unleash Violence
Oseguera Cervantes, aka El Mencho, was killed throughout an try to seize him. In the meantime, his followers tried to struggle off Mexican troops. Mexico’s Protection Secretary, Ricardo Trevilla, mentioned Monday that the military and Nationwide Guard launched an operation within the southern a part of Jalisco state to seize El Mencho. Mexican air pressure and particular forces have been additionally concerned. Intelligence gathered about one in every of Mencho’s romantic companions led them to his hideout, he mentioned.
The cartel counterattacked. Within the confrontation, federal forces killed eight members of the felony group. El Mencho and two of his bodyguards have been wounded and died later throughout switch by air to Mexico Metropolis, Trevilla mentioned. Officers seized rocket launchers able to capturing down plane and destroying armored automobiles on the scene.
The killing of Jalisco New Era Cartel chief Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes throughout an try to seize him in Jalisco state was a high-profile blow towards cartels. The best for the reason that recapture of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán a decade in the past.
After El Mencho died, safety forces have been positioned on alert all through the nation as gunmen unleashed violence. Cartels torched vehicles, blocking roads in 20 Mexican states. Individuals locked themselves of their houses in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest metropolis and Jalisco’s capital. Additionally, faculty was canceled on Monday in a number of states.
Who Was El Mencho?
Oseguera Cervantes, higher often known as ‘El Mencho,’ was 59 years outdated and initially from the western state of Michoacan. His ties to organized crime went again at the very least 30 years. In 1994, he was tried for trafficking heroin within the U.S. He spent three years in jail. After returning to Mexico, he shortly rose by Mexico’s drug trafficking underworld.
Round 2009, El Mencho based the Jalisco New Era Cartel. It grew to become Mexico’s fastest-growing felony group and moved cocaine, methamphetamines, fentanyl and migrants to the US. The cartel recruited aggressively, experimenting with new methods to achieve potential members on-line. It additionally made cash by gas theft, extortion and timeshare fraud.
In the end, the Jalisco New Era Cartel earned a repute for assaults on Mexican safety forces, together with downing a army helicopter in Jalisco in 2015. Mencho’s cartel additionally tried a spectacular, however unsuccessful, assassination of Mexico Metropolis Police Chief Omar García Harfuch. Harfuch is now Mexico’s federal safety secretary.
It’s not clear who will succeed El Mencho, or if anyone particular person can. The Jalisco cartel has a presence in at the very least 21 of Mexico’s 32 states and is energetic in virtually all the United States, in line with the U.S. DEA. However it is usually a worldwide group.
What Occurs Now?
The killing might give Mexico a leg up in its dealings with the Trump administration. The president has been threatening tariffs or army motion if Mexico doesn’t present ends in the struggle towards the cartels.
El Mencho was going through a number of indictments in the US and the U.S. State Division had supplied a $15 million reward for data resulting in his arrest. The Trump administration designated his cartel a terrorist group a 12 months in the past.
The best worry can be that the cartel turns to indiscriminate violence. They may determine to:
“launch narcoterrorism assaults … and generate a situation just like what Colombia lived within the Nineties,” a full-on assault towards the federal government “automobile bombs, assassinations and assaults on plane.”
Related Press author María Verza contributed to this report by way of AP Newsroom.
What Do You Suppose Roomies?