Mexican Security Forces Battle Cartel Gunmen After Killing Drug Lord

Heavily armed Mexican security forces continued battling cartel gunmen following the killing of notorious drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera “El Mencho” Cervantes.

The cartel responded to their leader's death with widespread violence, erecting more than 250 roadblocks across 20 states and setting vehicles on fire. (Photo: D. Myles Cullen, U.S. Army)

Cartel fighters blocked roads as smoke rose on the outskirts of towns in the state of Jalisco, Megan Janetsky and Maria Verza reported for the Associated Press (AP).

More than 70 people died during the operation to capture El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organizations.

The death toll included security personnel, suspected cartel members, and others.

Officials did not provide detailed circumstances for most of the fatalities.

Oseguera Cervantes led one of Mexico’s fastest-growing criminal networks, known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the US and staging brazen attacks against government officials.

The cartel responded to his death with widespread violence, erecting more than 250 roadblocks across 20 states and setting vehicles on fire.

Oseguera Cervantes died after a shootout with the Mexican military.

Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said authorities had tracked one of his romantic partners to his hideout in Tapalpa.

The cartel leader and two bodyguards fled into a wooded area, where they were seriously wounded in a firefight. They were taken into custody and died en route to Mexico City, Trevilla said.