How a Secret Love Nest and a Mistress's Location Handed Authorities the Kill Shot on El Mencho

He had eluded soldiers, bounty hunters and intelligence agencies for years—keeping such a low profile that the only known photographs of him were decades old. But for Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as 'El Mencho', it was not a rival cartel or a government informant that sealed his fate. It was a woman. Mexican and US authorities tracked one of his romantic partners to a secluded mountain compound in Tapalpa, Jalisco, leading special forces directly to the most wanted drug lord in Mexico—and ending his reign over the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG.

Mexico's Defence Secretary, Gen Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, confirmed at a Monday press conference that intelligence officers had identified a man close to one of Oseguera Cervantes' girlfriends before the Sunday raid. That lead placed the woman in Tapalpa—a mountainside resort town in Jalisco—where the 59-year-old cartel boss and his armed entourage were holed up. Once the woman departed the compound, the military moved in.

The Operation That Took Him Down

According to Trevilla Trejo, a violent shootout erupted when Oseguera Cervantes attempted to flee. He was wounded during the crossfire and was transported by air towards Mexico City for medical treatment, but died of his injuries en route. Four cartel members were killed at the location, with three others—including El Mencho—dying during transfer. Two additional suspects were arrested, and armoured vehicles, rocket launchers and other weapons were seized at the scene. Three members of the Mexican armed forces were wounded and are receiving medical treatment, the secretariat added.

Trevilla Trejo, visibly overcome with emotion while addressing the families of those killed in the operation, broke down in tears during the press conference. 'Mexico should be very proud of our armed forces,' he said.

A Kingpin Built on Shadows

El Mencho's ability to stay hidden was central to his survival. Security analyst David Saucedo described El Mencho's rise as one built through calculated alliances, including his marriage into the powerful Valencia crime family. He had separated from his wife, Rosalinda González Valencia, in 2018, and was reportedly involved with a different romantic partner at the time of his death.

He lived modestly by kingpin standards, moving constantly across the mountainous terrain of Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima and Nayarit — never staying in one place for long, shielded by an inner circle of mercenaries with former military training. Former US Drug Enforcement Administration official Paul Craine once described him as 'public enemy No. 1' who commanded an 'army of thousands.' The US had placed a $15 million bounty on his head.

The Cartel's Violent Response

The CJNG did not take the news of their leader's death quietly. Within hours of El Mencho's passing, gunmen across Mexico torched vehicles, blocked highways and turned Guadalajara—Jalisco's capital and a 2026 FIFA World Cup host city—into what witnesses described as a ghost town. Videos on social media showed smoke rising above Puerto Vallarta and panicked passengers sprinting through Guadalajara's international airport. Roadblocks were reported across more than 20 Mexican states, with attacks also directed at gas stations and banks.

Mexico's top security official, Omar García Harfuch, confirmed that 70 people had been detained in connection with the violence, and that more than 30 suspected cartel members and 27 Mexican authorities had been attacked during the outbreak. The US Embassy urged American citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero and Nuevo León to shelter in place, whilst multiple international airlines cancelled flights out of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, speaking firmly at Monday's press conference, told the public that Mexico was 'under control' and that the roadblocks had ceased by Monday. She added that disrupted flights, particularly out of Puerto Vallarta, were expected to be fully restored by Tuesday.

A Signal to Washington

The timing of the raid carried significant political weight. For Mexico, the killing of Oseguera Cervantes was its most prominent success yet in demonstrating to the Trump administration a determined commitment to tackling the cartels. The White House confirmed it provided intelligence support to Mexican forces ahead of the raid.

El Mencho's death marks the fall of the most powerful cartel figure operating freely in Mexico since the arrest of Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. But analysts caution that the CJNG—structured like a franchise across roughly 90 organisations and active in over 40 countries—will not simply collapse. With no clear successor and a cartel already responding with mass violence, the weeks ahead could reshape Mexico's criminal landscape in deeply unpredictable ways.