The most-wanted cartel boss in Mexico was killed after a government operation to capture him on Sunday, inciting violence across the country.<\/p>\n
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, was the longtime leader of one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful gangs, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and was considered one of the country\u2019s most violent criminal figures.<\/p>\n
The Mexican government said he had been injured during a mission led by security forces in Tapalpa \u2014 a town of about 20,000, in the western coastal state of Jalisco, where his gang was based \u2014 and died while in transport to Mexico City for medical attention.<\/p>\n
Here is what to know about El Mencho, his cartel, and the significance of his death, in Mexico and beyond.<\/p>\n
What is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel?<\/p>\n
A breakaway gang that split from Mexico\u2019s powerful Sinaloa Cartel around 2009, the cartel grew to become one of Mexico\u2019s dominant drug trafficking organizations. It battles rivals across multiple Mexican states while moving synthetic drugs \u2014 including cocaine, methamphetamine and, in recent years, fentanyl \u2014 into the United States and other countries.<\/p>\n
As of last year, the cartel, sometimes known by the Spanish-language acronym C.J.N.G., was the main competitor of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the National Counterterrorism Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mr. Oseguera, who founded and led the group, managed his cartel\u2019s expansion by forging agreements with smaller, local gangs beyond its strongholds in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Colima.<\/p>\n The group, made up of about 15,000 to 20,000 members by American government estimates, is believed to take in billions of dollars in revenue annually. Its criminal activities include drug trafficking, extortion, fuel theft, kidnapping, illegal logging and mining, and migrant smuggling.<\/p>\n The Jalisco New Generation Cartel uses violence and intimidation to secure cooperation and scare off rivals. It conducts public executions and puts the bodies on display, often publicizing the violence on social media. It has also attacked and assassinated Mexican politicians, judges and law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n The U.S. State Department designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization last year.<\/p>\n Who was El Mencho?<\/p>\n The nickname is commonly used by people with Mr. Oseguera\u2019s given name, Nemesio.<\/p>\n A screen shot from a Mexican TV shows an image of Mr. Oseguera.Credit…via Agence France-Presse \u2014 Getty Images<\/p>\n Born in 1966 in Mexico to poor farmers, he moved to California as a teenager. There, he twice faced charges of drug trafficking as a young adult. Returning to Mexico after his second arrest, he reportedly worked briefly as a police officer in Mexico.<\/p>\n