THE Jalisco New Generation Cartel launched a sweeping campaign of violence across Mexico on Sunday, torching vehicles, blocking highways, and terrorising civilian areas hours after the Mexican military killed its feared leader, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes – known as “El Mencho” – in a raid in the western state of Jalisco.
Cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states, leaving smoke billowing into the air. Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara – Mexico’s second-largest city – was turned into a ghost town Sunday night as civilians hunkered down indoors.
Authorities announced late Sunday that they had cleared most of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks that had spread across 20 states. Schools were canceled Monday in several states.
The Mexican Secretariat of National Defence said Oseguera Cervantes was wounded during a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, on Sunday and died while being flown to Mexico City. He was 59 years old and carried a $15 million U.S. government bounty on his head.
The retaliatory attacks struck civilian infrastructure with particular ferocity. Suspected cartel members set buses on fire, blocked roads across the region, and clashed with authorities. In Guadalajara, gunfire was reported and armed men suspected of being CJNG members set a gas station ablaze in the city where the cartel was founded in 2009.
The violence crippled air travel across western Mexico. Several airlines — including Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Air Canada — cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. Air Canada said it was “monitoring the situation and in contact with local authorities who are working to resolve the issue.”
Roads to and from the airport in Reynosa, a Mexican border city in Tamaulipas that borders McAllen, Texas, were also blocked off by cartel members. While international bridges remained open, key streets leading to them were cut off.
The U.S. Embassy issued shelter-in-place advisories for multiple states. The U.S. State Department warned American citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Nuevo León to remain in safe places. Canada’s embassy warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and keep a low profile in Jalisco.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm and applauded security forces, though acknowledged the disruption. She stressed that “in most parts of the country, activities are proceeding normally” and said there were no immediate reports of civilian casualties.
The military operation, which also involved U.S. intelligence, was hailed by American officials as a landmark moment in the war on drug trafficking. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called Oseguera “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins” and described the killing as “a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.” Landau added that the violence was unsurprising, saying the “bad guys” were responding with terror, but urged that “we must never lose our nerve.”
Analysts warn the aftermath may be prolonged and destabilising. Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Mexico City noted there is no obvious successor to Oseguera — his brother, son, and daughter are all imprisoned — raising the prospect of a fractious internal power struggle. “We could now see different regional bosses in the cartel start disputing for power. We saw this happen before. When El Chapo was arrested, it eventually sparked a civil war between the different Sinaloa factions,” he said.
The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive criminal organisations in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. The Trump administration designated CJNG as a foreign terrorist organisation in February 2025.
The timing has added to the alarm. Guadalajara is set to host several matches in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled for June. Whether the cartel violence subsides or escalates into a prolonged internal war will have significant consequences for the country’s security — and its ability to host the world’s most-watched sporting event.
