Mexico’s most wanted drug lord ‘El Mencho’ killed in military operation

The US State Department issued a shelter-in-place warning for US citizens in the states of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, as well as some areas in Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo later urged people to remain “calm”.

She wrote on X that “in most parts of the country, activities are proceeding normally”.

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El Mencho, a 59-year-old former police officer, ran a vast criminal organisation responsible for trafficking huge quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US.

The US State Department had offered a $15m (£11.1m) reward for information leading to El Mencho’s capture.

The Mexican defence ministry said in a statement that the operation was “planned and executed” by the country’s special forces.

Aircraft from the Mexican Air Force and the National Guard were also deployed.