How Mexico found ‘El Mencho,’ according to the Army

Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said connected Monday that authorities determined the determination of the now-deceased person of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) aft a antheral delivered 1 of his “romantic partners” to him.

CJNG person Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was changeable by Mexican subject unit during a national cognition successful Tapalpa, Jalisco, connected Sunday morning. He subsequently died and his assemblage was transferred to Mexico City.

The bodies of Oseguera and his 2 bodyguards were flown to Mexico City connected Sunday afternoon, wherever authorities believed the hazard of retaliation by members of the CJNG was little than successful Guadalajara. (Graciela López/Cuartoscuro)

At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Monday greeting property conference, Trevilla said that connected Feb. 20 — past Friday — subject quality enactment enabled the determination of a “trusted antheral of 1 of the romanticist partners of ‘El Mencho.'”

That man, helium said, transported Oseguera’s person to a spot successful Tapalpa, a municipality astir 130 kilometers southwest of Guadalajara.

Trevilla said that the pistillate — seemingly not Oseguera’s woman — met with “El Mencho” astatine the property.

The adjacent time — past Saturday — the pistillate near the spot “and accusation was obtained that ‘El Mencho’ remained astatine that place,” the defence curate said without explaining precisely however authorities got the information.

Oseguera stayed astatine the spot “with a ellipse of security,” Trevilla said.

He said that an cognition targeting “El Mencho” was planned connected Saturday.

“It is doctrinal, it is an axiom of subject operations carried retired by equipped forces astir the satellite that whoever executes the cognition is the 1 who indispensable program it,” Trevilla said.

“In this case, it was Special Forces unit and unit from the National Guard’s Immediate Response Special Force who planned the operation,” helium said.

The operation 

Trevilla said that an operational unit made up of “three components” was organized connected Saturday.

He said that forces connected the crushed successful Jalisco were supported by subject helicopters and Mexican Air Force planes.

The aircraft, however, initially remained connected alert successful neighboring states successful bid to support the secrecy and astonishment of the operation, Trevilla said.

He said that connected Saturday night, authorities erstwhile again confirmed the beingness of Oseguera successful Tapalpa and crushed forces moved into the municipality to transportation retired the cognition aimed astatine detaining him.

Trevilla said that the subject was alert that “El Mencho” and the different CJNG members with him were equipped and truthful the program was to “apply the Federal Firearms Law” and “detain them in flagrante.”

He told reporters that Oseguera’s information squad opened occurrence against subject unit and past “‘El Mencho’ comes out.”

“The onslaught the organized transgression unit carried retired was truly precise violent,” helium said, adding that the Special Forces Military unit returned fire.

The wounding and decease of ‘El Mencho’

Trevilla said that the cognition occurred astatine a “complex of cabins” connected the outskirts of Tapalpa.

Aspectos del operativo de la Defensa tras haber abatido a “El Mencho”.pic.twitter.com/qltRkx99RD

— Joaquín López-Dóriga (@lopezdoriga) February 22, 2026

After initially shooting astatine the subject personnel, “El Mencho” and his “close circle” escaped into a “wooded area,” helium said.

Special Forces chased them and located them, Trevilla said.

He said that the CJNG members opened occurrence again and the subject unit erstwhile again changeable back.

At that point, “El Mencho” and 2 of his bodyguards were wounded, Trevilla said, adding that 2 different “criminals” were detained.

“Once the concern was brought nether control,” subject medics approached Oseguera and his 2 wounded bodyguards and determined it was “necessary to evacuate them,” helium said, explaining that they were successful “very serious” condition.

The defence curate said that the assistance of a chopper was sought successful bid to transportation the wounded CJNG members to a infirmary successful Jalisco.

He noted that each 3 died connected the mode to the hospital, and therefore, it was decided that the chopper would spell to the Morelia International Airport successful Michoacán. In Morelia, the 3 bodies were enactment onto an Air Force level and taken to Mexico City, Trevilla said.

“That was decided due to the fact that it wasn’t advisable to get successful Guadalajara owed to the hazard … that this transgression radical would transportation retired much convulsive actions there, successful the superior of Jalisco,” helium said.

The Defense Ministry said connected Sunday that Oseguera and 2 different wounded CJNG members died en way to Mexico City. It didn’t notation that their bodies were taken to Morelia anterior to their transportation to Mexico City.

Trevilla said that a full of “eight criminals” died astatine the country successful Tapalpa. He acknowledged that the Defense Ministry reported connected Sunday that 4 radical were killed astatine the country “because that was the preliminary accusation we had.”

Three subject unit were wounded, each of whom were transferred to Mexico City for aesculapian treatment, according to the Defense Ministry.

CJNG changeable a subject helicopter, forcing it to marque an exigency landing 

Trevilla said that CJNG members managed to sprout a subject chopper during the cognition successful Tapalpa.

Consequently, the chopper was forced to marque an exigency landing astatine a adjacent subject installation successful the municipality of Sayula, helium said.

“Fortunately, nary subject unit were injured,” Trevilla said.

The subject seized a scope of weapons successful Tapalpa, including “two rocket launchers,” the defence curate said. He noted that 1 of the rocket launchers was of the aforesaid benignant that the CJNG utilized to down an service chopper successful 2015.

Defense curate acknowledges Mexico received quality from US 

Trevilla said that “with cardinal subject quality and complementary accusation from the institutions of the Security Cabinet and besides U.S. institutions, the Ministry of National Defense tracked El Mencho’s web of contacts until the conditions were close to program an cognition to apprehension him.”

🚨#Entérate | Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Secretario de la Defensa de México, narra cómo ubicaron a Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, conocido como ‘ElMencho’, en Tapalpa, Jalisco.

Su captura se dio gracias al seguimiento de su pareja sentimental, según informó Trevilla. pic.twitter.com/XWJ08iIkvW

— Códices Oaxaca (@codicesoax) February 23, 2026

However, helium said that “everything related to the romanticist partner, to his collaborators, to his adjacent circle” is “our subject intelligence.”

“There was, I insist, a batch of further information,” Trevila said, describing quality provided by the United States arsenic “very important.”

“All of that, erstwhile integrated and thoroughly analyzed, gave america the nonstop location” of Oseguera, helium said.

Citing accusation from a U.S. defence official, Reuters reported connected Sunday that “a new U.S.-military-led task unit specializing successful quality postulation connected cause cartels played a relation successful the Mexican subject raid connected Sunday that killed the Mexican cause lord known as ‘El Mencho.'”

“The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel, which involves aggregate U.S. authorities agencies, was formally launched past period with the extremity of mapping retired networks of cause cartel members connected some sides of the U.S.-Mexico border,” Reuters wrote, citing U.S. officials.

Mexico News Daily