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

It also said that several armoured vehicles and weapons – including rocket launchers – were seized during the operation.

The US had been providing information to Mexico that assisted its operation, the statement said.

Reuters A bus used as a roadblock by organized crime burns following a federal operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho,” was killed, in Zapopan, Mexico, February 22, 2026. Reuters
A burning bus that appears to have been used as a roadblock by organised crime during the Mexican military’s move against El Mencho
Eyewitnesses have filmed plumes of smoke rising over several cities including Guadalajara – one of the host cities of the forthcoming Fifa World Cup.

In the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta, on the Jalisco coast, potentially thousands of tourists are trapped in the resort because of the unrest.

Throughout Sunday, there were reports of gunmen on the streets in Jalisco and elsewhere.