To find Mexico’s most-wanted kingpin, security officials said, they did not follow the money or the trail of drugs. Instead, they said they followed his “romantic partner.”
It was she, authorities said, who led them into the wooded mountains of Jalisco state, to the cabin where Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — the notorious cartel leader known as “El Mencho” — was hiding since at least Friday.
Quickly, a high-stakes plan was in motion to capture the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a man long considered one of the country’s most ruthless criminal figures, Mexican officials said Monday during a news conference.
The operation culminated in a vicious firefight that killed several suspected cartel members, and by Sunday morning, Mr. Oseguera was dead after being fatally wounded in a shootout with Mexican authorities, the government said.
Once news of his death became public, Mexico erupted.
The stunning operation appears to be a major victory in Mexico’s new offensive against drug cartels, one that could help reduce pressure from President Trump, who has been threatening strikes in Mexico against the same criminal groups. But it also plunged the country into chaos, as armed groups retaliated in 20 of the country’s 32 states. They attacked security forces, blocked highways and set fire to supermarkets, banks and vehicles. At least 62 people in total were killed.
Airlines and bus companies canceled routes, trapping travelers, including thousands of tourists in beach destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, a major resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast. They were told to shelter in place as they watched plumes of smoke rise from the burning city.
Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Mexico’s defense secretary, described the government’s account of the raid in some detail during Monday’s news conference, crying as he spoke about the security forces who lost their lives in Sunday’s operations.
“They accomplished their mission,” he said. “What did we show? The strength of the Mexican state.”
By Monday afternoon, order seemed to have been largely restored across the country.
In her daily morning address to the country, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said that the roadblocks on the highways had been cleared. But the atmosphere remained tense in parts of the country. Schools and businesses remained closed in some of the areas hit hardest, and many residents stayed home.
“The most important thing at this moment is to guarantee peace and security for the entire population of Mexico,” Ms. Sheinbaum said.
Mr. Oseguera formed the Jalisco cartel just over 15 years ago after he broke away from the rival Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel’s activities include drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and migrant smuggling, and Mr. Oseguera had a reputation for attacking security forces and terrorizing communities. The U.S. State Department offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
His death marks the first time in recent years that the Mexican military has killed a top cartel leader in the country.
The operation began on Friday, when Mexican intelligence officials tracked a man close to one of Mr. Oseguera’s “romantic partners,” as General Trevilla described her. He said the man had taken the woman to see Mr. Oseguera in Tapalpa, Jalisco state, the colonial town in the countryside of the cartel’s stronghold.
The next day, the woman left the cabin, but Mr. Oseguera stayed behind with his security team, General Trevilla said. Mexican special forces then began planning his capture.
They moved in to the small city of Tapalpa early Sunday morning. Once the forces made themselves known, General Trevilla said Mr. Oseguera fled, while a battle broke out between the troops and the cartel boss’s security team.
His associates had a “large amount of weaponry,” General Trevilla said, noting that armed forces found seven long weapons and two rocket launchers. “It was a very violent attack,” he added. Mexican authorities fought back and eight suspected cartel members were killed.
The Mexican special forces then tracked Mr. Oseguera and another group of his associates to a nearby wooded area, General Trevilla said. “They found him hiding in the brush,” the general said.
General Trevilla said that Mr. Oseguera’s group had a rocket launcher that had also been used in 2015 to take down a military helicopter elsewhere in Jalisco state, killing nine security forces who had been searching for the cartel leader. He said Mexican authorities prevented them from using it this time, but that Mr. Oseguera’s associates still managed to damage a nearby military helicopter, which made an emergency landing.
As the two sides exchanged fire, Mr. Oseguera and two of his guards were severely injured. Eventually, security forces found the group and moved them by helicopter.
But Mr. Oseguera and his two guards died while being transported to a medical facility in Guadalajara, General Trevilla said. Their bodies were eventually sent to Mexico City instead.
During Monday’s news conference, Ms. Sheinbaum quietly reminded to General Trevilla to keep details sparse regarding the intelligence on Mr. Oseguera and his inner circle. The general noted that while Mexican officials spearheaded the intelligence on Mr. Oseguera’s partner and his team, “additional information” provided by U.S. authorities helped pinpoint his exact location.
“We have greatly strengthened that relationship with the U.S. Northern Command, and that exchange of information is extremely important,” he said, referring to the United States’ military command in North America.
In all, Mexican authorities said they arrested 70 people and killed 34 suspected cartel members in the chaos across the country on Sunday, while 25 members of the national guard were among the dead. Local news outlets reported a civilian killed was a pregnant woman who had been caught in a shootout.
Antonio Morales Díaz, the mayor of Tapalpa, said in an interview on Monday that he did not know the notorious cartel leader was staying there. The town is a tourist destination for those seeking a cabin getaway or hiking in the woods, he said.
Mr. Morales Díaz said that around 7 a.m. Sunday he noticed seven helicopters, two drones and a small plane overheard, so he reached out to state authorities to find out what was happening. He said he did not know then that it was the military operation against Mr. Oseguera.
“This situation is shocking,” he said, noting that his municipality still had four roads blocked by rubble and burned vehicles as of midday Monday. “We don’t like it, and we wouldn’t have wanted something like this to happen in our town, but these are things beyond our control.”
Miriam Castillo and Cyntia Barrera Díaz contributed reporting from Mexico City.
James Wagner covers news and culture in Latin America for The Times. He is based in Mexico City.
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