Mexico City, 23 February 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Mexico's most powerful drug lord, known as "El Mencho," is dead, authorities said on Sunday.

Mexico's Defence Ministry said that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who led a notorious cartel in the western state of Jalisco, was killed in a military operation to arrest him.

He was initially injured and died while being flown to Mexico City, according to a statement from the ministry.

US authorities contributed information as part of bilateral cooperation. The United States had offered a reward of $15 million for the 59-year-old, known as "El Mencho."

Six other gang members were killed and two more were arrested during the operation by a special forces unit in the municipality of Tapalpa in Jalisco, according to official reports. Three soldiers were reportedly injured and taken to hospital.

The former police officer had led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which he founded, since 2011.

In the Mexican underworld, he was known as "Lord of the Roosters" because of his fondness for cockfighting.

Cartel reacts with violence

The operation triggered a violent reaction from the cartel.

Gang members in several states, including Jalisco, Michoacán, Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas and Guanajuato, blocked roads with burning cars, trucks and buses.

Fires were also set in pharmacies and small retail shops. In the Pacific coast city of Puerto Vallarta, which is popular with tourists, videos showed burning cars and large black clouds of smoke rising between buildings. Authorities urged people to seek safety.

Some international airlines bound for Puerto Vallarta Airport diverted their flights, the Mexican Federal Civil Aviation Agency said.

Authorities in several states said schools would be closed on Monday.

The US Embassy in Mexico also issued a security warning for US citizens. Due to ongoing security operations and roadblocks, US citizens in the affected areas should remain in their accommodation until further notice, it said.

US State Department congratulates Mexico

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, writing on X, congratulated Mexico for killing "one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins."

"This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys."

He then congratulated "the law enforcement agencies of the great Mexican nation," writing in Spanish.

Landau was watching "the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern," he added.

"It's not surprising that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called for calm in a post on X.

"There is full coordination with the governments of all states; we must remain informed and stay calm," she wrote.

"We work every day for the peace, security, justice, and well-being of Mexico."

The criminal syndicate Oseguera led is a transnational organization with connections as far afield as China and Australia. In addition to trafficking fentanyl, it is also involved in extortion, migrant smuggling, theft of oil and minerals and arms trafficking.

Photo: dpa