Authorities deploy 10,000 troopers nationwide to quell violence following the drug lord’s killing in a navy operation.
Printed On 24 Feb 2026
Mexico stays on excessive alert after a wave of reprisal assaults triggered by the killing of its most needed drug cartel chief, whilst President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed the nation is at peace and life is returning to regular.
Some 10,000 troopers have been deployed throughout 20 of Mexico’s 32 states to keep up order following the killing of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera in a navy operation about 130km (80 miles) from Guadalajara metropolis on Sunday.
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Guadalajara is the capital of western Mexico’s Jalisco state – the stronghold of Oseguera’s Jalisco New Technology Cartel (CJNG) – the place a minimum of 2,000 troopers have been despatched.
Faculties in Guadalajara and a number of other different Mexican cities had been closed on Monday. Nonetheless, public transport partially resumed, although buses carried few passengers, as individuals witnessed a sluggish return to normalcy.
Safety Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch stated on Monday that a minimum of 74 individuals had been killed, together with 25 Nationwide Guard officers, within the operation that killed the cartel boss and the next violence over the killing of the 59-year-old drug kingpin, probably the most needed males in Mexico and the US.
“El Mencho” was thought of the final of the drug lords who acted within the brutal mould of the now-imprisoned Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, of the rival Sinaloa Cartel. He was a founding member of CJNG, which was fashioned in 2009 and has grown into one in all Mexico’s most violent crime organisations.
Following his killing, suspected CJNG members set fireplace to automobiles in a number of states and blocked quite a few roads. Additionally they attacked banks, petrol stations and retailers.
Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Mexico Metropolis, stated there was an eerie quiet within the nation following El Mencho’s killing.
“Many companies are closed, and the vehicles that the CJNG cartel dragged throughout roads to cease Mexican safety forces and create chaos have been moved out of the best way,” Holman stated.
In the meantime, President Sheinbaum stated on Monday that peace had returned to the nation. “Mexico is calm. We awakened with none roadblocks, and all exercise has been restored,” she stated.
The White Home confirmed that the US offered intelligence assist to the operation to seize the cartel chief and applauded Mexico’s military for taking down a person who was probably the most needed criminals in each international locations.
Sheinbaum pressured that solely Mexican forces had been concerned within the operation.
“There was no participation within the operation by US forces. What now we have is a whole lot of change of data offered by the US authorities, however the complete operation, from its strategy planning stage, is the accountability of [Mexico’s] federal forces,” the president stated.
Consultants now warn that the “absence of a direct succession” inside CJNG might result in a power vacuum and violent fights to fill it.
