Within hours of the killing of Nemesio Oseguera, the feared cartel boss known as El Mencho, Mexico was gripped by a coordinated wave of retaliation that shut highways, grounded flights and sent residents scrambling for cover.Gunmen believed to be loyal to the slain leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) blocked major roads across several states with burning vehicles and torched businesses in what security sources described as an orchestrated show of force. In some towns, authorities urged tourists and residents to remain indoors, while trucking groups advised drivers to avoid key routes or return to their depots until conditions stabilized.The violence followed a high-profile operation by Mexican special forces in Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, carried out with US intelligence support, according to officials. Oseguera, 60, died in custody after being injured during the raid. His body was transported to Mexico City in a heavily guarded convoy.Air travel was disrupted as Air Canada, United Airlines and Aeromexico canceled flights to Puerto Vallarta, the Pacific beach resort where stunned visitors filmed thick plumes of smoke rising over the bay. Video shared with Reuters showed beachgoers on a pier capturing images of dark clouds blotting out the ocean skyline.The violence, spanning more than half a dozen states, evoked scenes that have become grimly familiar over two decades of Mexico’s war against drug cartels — swift reprisals, paralyzed transport corridors and cities on the edge.A CJNG member told Reuters the fires and sporadic gunfire were acts of revenge for Oseguera’s killing during Sunday’s military raid in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and warned the unrest could escalate as factions maneuver to seize control of the cartel.“The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader’s death, at first against the government and out of dissatisfaction,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “But later the internal killings are coming, by the groups moving in to take over.”In Jalisco state, authorities said gunmen attacked a National Guard base and recommended hotel guests stay inside as public transport was suspended. Elsewhere, videos shared by security sources showed a military tank rolling through a residential neighborhood in Aguascalientes, roadblocks choking the busy Mexico-Puebla highway, and armed men in pickup trucks halting traffic in Colima.The state of Guanajuato — long a CJNG stronghold — reported 55 separate incidents across 23 municipalities and 18 arrests, though officials said by evening the situation was under control.Residents described an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Carlo Gutierrez, who lives in Guadalajara, said WhatsApp groups buzzed with warnings to remain indoors. “There is fear and a lot of caution,” he said of the city, one of Mexico’s host venues for this summer’s World Cup matches.Authorities have reported no civilian deaths linked to the backlash, beyond cartel members and security personnel killed during the operation that brought down Oseguera.Past high-profile arrests and killings of cartel leaders had triggered similar waves of violence. The 2019 detention — and swift release — of Ovidio Guzman, son of Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, led to gun battles that rocked Culiacán. His re-arrest in 2023 again sets off unrest. The 2024 capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada plunged the Sinaloa Cartel into a bloody internal struggle that continues.Reacting to the latest violence, US deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau said on social media: “It’s not surprising that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve.”The turmoil presents an immediate challenge for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has been under pressure from Washington to intensify operations against cartels blamed for trafficking fentanyl into the United States. While she stressed that daily life was proceeding normally in most of the country, the scale of the backlash underscored the risks of taking down a figure whose organization has embedded itself across vast swathes of Mexico.In Washington, President Donald Trump’s administration praised the killing as a major blow to organized crime. But on the ground in Mexico, the immediate aftermath was defined less by celebration than by roadblocks, flames and the specter of further bloodshed.
