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6 days ago
The State Department is warning Americans presently in Mexico to shelter in place amid the chaos wrought by the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the Cartel kingpin known as “El Mencho.”
In advisory issues this week, the State Department is recommending United States citizens reconsider any upcoming trips to Mexico they may have planned. Americans who are already in Mexico — either as residents or tourists — are being urged not to travel anywhere in most of the country’s 31 states.
The Mexican army, using intelligence provided by the U.S., killed Oseguera Cervantes, 59, the morning of Sunday, February 22. Oseguera Cervantes was a former police officer who became the powerful leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Chaos erupted in the wake of Oseguera Cervantes’ assassination, with cartel members targeting the tourist-heavy Puerto Vallarta, setting fire to cars and gas stations. Highways were shut down by vehicle fires, and the airports experienced some cancellations and many delays.
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“Due to road blockages and criminal activity related to security operations that took place on February 22, U.S. citizens in specific locations in Mexico are urged to shelter in place,” reads the advisory. “U.S. government staff in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco/Nayarit), and Ciudad Guzman (Jalisco) are sheltering in place until all blockades are cleared, and we urge U.S. citizens to do the same.”
Previous unrest has subsided in Baja California (including Tijuana, Tecate, and Ensenada), Quintana Roo State (including Cancún, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum), Colima, Guanajuato, Estado de Mexico, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Zacatecas.
All airports in Mexico remain open, and the State Department said there are no indications of any security-related flight disruptions.
The wanted poster for El Mencho US State Department/Anadolu via Getty ImagesAmericans in Mexico are being asked to “seek shelter and minimize unnecessary movements” and “avoid areas around law enforcement activity,” the advisory reads.
“Monitor local media for updates,” it added. ” Follow the directions of local authorities and in case of emergency, call 911. Keep family and friends advised of your location and well-being via phone, text, and social media.”
The agency said the U.S. government has limited ability to assist Americans in many parts of Mexico as government officials are not permitted to travel in several high-risk areas.
Oseguera Cervantes was allegedly tracked down thanks to his lover. Associates of the kingpin were followed as they brought the drug lord’s romantic partner to see him on Friday, February 20.
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Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla said that eight gunmen were killed and the cartel king and two of his bodyguards were wounded during Sunday’s operation in his Jalisco. Oseguera Cervantes and his bodyguards died en route to the hospital.
Officials have said more than 70 people were killed in the operation as well as the ensuing violence, including security forces.
Mexican authorities on Monday, February 23, deployed some 2,000 military troops to the western state of Jalisco after violence broke out there following El Mencho’s death.
El Mencho was arrested and tried for heroin trafficking in the U.S. in 1994 and spent three years in federal prison.
After returning to Mexico, he established himself as a major player in the drug trafficking underworld.
In 2009, he founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a criminal organization that pushed cocaine, methamphetamines, and fentanyl to the U.S. The cartel also deals in human trafficking, authorities have said.
