Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s president has praised the country’s special forces after the death in custody of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho,” one of the nation’s most wanted drug lords.
Oseguera, leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), died on Sunday shortly after being captured during a bloody firefight in Jalisco. Authorities described the operation as a major blow against organised crime.
But security analysts warn that the removal of a cartel kingpin often triggers violent power struggles, as rival factions scramble to control territory and trafficking routes.
That pattern is already evident in Culiacán, capital of Sinaloa state, where internal warfare within the Sinaloa Cartel has fuelled months of bloodshed.
For paramedics Héctor Torres, 53, and Julio César Vega, 28, the violence is relentless.
“The fear is everywhere, and the fear is constant,” Héctor said from the front seat of an ambulance after responding to a fatal shooting in a downtown garage. The victim lay dead in his office, his wife arriving moments later in anguish.
Over the past 18 months, Sinaloa has been torn apart by infighting following the arrest and extradition to the United States of cartel leader Ismael Zambada, known as “El Mayo.” His removal fractured alliances and ignited a deadly feud among former allies.
Héctor said call-outs rose more than 70pc last year. “They were like brothers… and suddenly they were fighting,” he said of rival factions that once operated under a unified structure.
The violence has spread beyond cartel members. Schools, hospitals, and even funerals have been targeted. Bodies bearing signs of torture have appeared in public spaces, often accompanied by threatening messages between factions.
The fentanyl trade lies at the heart of the conflict. The synthetic opioid, responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the United States, generates billions of dollars annually for Mexican cartels.
US President Donald Trump has designated major cartels as terrorist organisations and labelled fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction,” warning of possible direct action if trafficking is not curbed.
Mexico’s government says it has cut fentanyl flows to the US by 50pc, though production continues in clandestine labs. One cartel producer, speaking anonymously, said shipments of powder — now favoured over pills to evade detection — can fetch up to $29,000 per kilo in cities such as New York.
Despite intensified operations and troop deployments, homicides in Culiacán average five to six per day, according to local journalists.
President Claudia Sheinbaum blamed internal cartel power struggles for the surge in violence and said her administration is “trying to avoid harm to civilians.”
Yet for families of the disappeared, progress feels distant. Reynalda Pulido, whose son vanished in 2020, leads a group of mothers searching fields for clandestine graves. “A mother will always look for her child,” she said, after hours of digging under a scorching sun yielded no remains.
Back in Culiacán, paramedics recently treated two men caught in crossfire — rare survivors in a city accustomed to fatal outcomes. As soldiers guarded the hospital against potential retaliation, Héctor reflected grimly: “These are the first victims we’ve found alive since November.”
The death of “El Mencho” marks a symbolic victory for Mexico’s security forces. But history suggests that removing a cartel boss may only redraw the battle lines — and deepen the human toll in cities already gripped by fear.
