Mexican authorities have confirmed that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 'El Mencho' and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), died on February 22, 2026, from gunshot wounds to the abdomen, thorax, and lower limbs sustained in a military confrontation in Tapalpa, Jalisco. He succumbed at 10:30 a.m. aboard a helicopter evacuating him to Mexico City. Updates include details on his death certificate, body handover, potential successors, and ongoing violence.
The death certificate, issued by Mexico City's Civil Registry, specifies 'a combination of thoracic, abdominal, and lower limb perforating and penetrating traumas secondary to wounds produced by projectiles from a firearm.' This confirms details from the February 22 operation in Tapalpa's forests, where federal forces clashed with El Mencho and his security detail, as previously reported.
National Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla confirmed in a February 23 briefing that military health personnel evacuated El Mencho and two seriously wounded escorts, but he died en route (clarifying earlier reports of destination as Mexico City). His body was released to family on February 28 from the Attorney General's Office (FGR) facilities, under military guard, and reportedly waked at Funeraria J. García López in Colonia Juárez.
The operation involved U.S. intelligence shared respectfully under Mexican sovereignty, per the Sheinbaum administration. Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch noted identification of up to four CJNG successors amid cartel reconfiguration. The U.S. had offered a $15 million reward for information on El Mencho.
His death triggered violence including blockades in at least 20 states, amid government preparations for the 2026 World Cup. Moody’s cites security as a 'serious social risk' constraining growth. DEA 2019 estimates pegged his fortune at $500 million to $1 billion from drug trafficking, Kovay Gardens fraud ($300 million), fuel theft, and illegal mining.
