Sawt Falasteen - Dozens dead in Mexico violence after drug kingpin killed

Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was wounded Sunday in a shootout with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said.

News of his death triggered spasms of violence, with cartel members across the country blocking roads in 20 states and torching vehicles and businesses.

At least 25 National Guard members were killed in subsequent clashes, Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said.

Harfuch added that a prison guard, a member of the state prosecutor's office and 30 suspected members of Oseguera's criminal organization were also killed.

Oseguera had a $15 million US bounty on his head.

Eight suspected cartel gunmen were killed in the special forces operation to capture him and three soldiers were wounded, Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said.

Fearful residents went into hiding, and tourists took shelter in their hotels and resorts as cartel members went on the rampage.

While US President Donald Trump had yet to respond publicly to the elimination of Oseguera, he posted briefly on his Truth Social platform: "Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!"

Although the violence appeared to be subsiding, Mexico remained on high alert.

The government sent 2,500 troops to Jalisco -- a state that is scheduled to host four World Cup soccer games this summer.

The streets of Jalisco's state capital Guadalajara were almost empty on Monday.

Schools, stores, pharmacies and gas stations remained shuttered, all events involving large crowds were cancelled and public transportation was suspended.

Maria Medina, who works in a gas station that was torched on Sunday, said gunmen showed up and told everyone to get out.

"I thought they were going to kidnap us. I ran to a taco stand to take cover with the people there," Medina told AFP.

The violence gripped the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, and spread to neighboring Michoacan state, where Oseguera's cartel has been waging war against a rival coalition of criminal groups.

- 'Shelter in place' -

Travel warnings from Britain, Canada and the United States were issued in the fallout, with Australia urging citizens to "exercise a degree of caution" early Monday.

Washington asked US citizens to "shelter in place until further notice."

Dozens of US and Canadian flights were cancelled.

Oseguera, 59, was considered the last of the drug lords who acted in the brutal mold of the now-imprisoned Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

With his son Ruben "El Menchito" Oseguera Gonzalez, 35, convicted by a federal jury in Washington in September, experts have warned the "absence of a direct succession" could lead to a power vacuum.

"That opens the door to violent realignments within the organization," David Mora, an expert at the Crisis Group analysis center, told AFP.

- US 'intelligence support' -

Mexico said in addition to its own military intelligence, the operation to seize Oseguera was carried out with "complementary information" from US authorities.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Washington "provided intelligence support."

Sheinbaum was adamant however that no US forces took part in the capture raid.

Two suspected cartel members were arrested and a variety of weapons seized during the operation, including rocket launchers capable of downing airplanes and destroying armored vehicles, the army said.

Oseguera was a founding member of CJNG, which was formed in 2009 and has grown into one of the most violent drug cartels in Mexico, ahead of the Sinaloa cartel.

Washington has classified CJNG as a terrorist organization and accuses it of sending cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the operation and called Oseguera "one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins."

The raid came amid pressure from Trump for Mexico to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

Trump has threatened repeatedly to slap tariffs on Mexican exports, arguing Sheinbaum has not done enough to combat the drug trade.

C.Hamad--SF-PST