Name: What's Happening in Mexico? All About the Deadly Violence After Cartel Boss Killed
Uploaded: 2026-02-24T12:47:32.000Z
Duration: 5 min 28 s
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Deadly violence sparked by the military killing of an infamous cartel leader has now spread across at least two-thirds of Mexico's states,

Participle clauses with adverbial meaning

with experts warning it could trigger a total war in the country.

Reports of raging gun battles with authorities and terrifying images of torched buildings and vehicles

paint a dire picture of the sudden chaos within the country,

as American citizens near the border have been warned to shelter in place, while flights are being canceled.

At least 20 of Mexico's 31 states have seen violent clashes in the wake of the death of the country's most wanted man.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG in its Spanish initials.

Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, died in custody on Sunday, February 22,

shortly after being captured by Mexican special forces in a violent shootout in Tapalpa, within the Jalisco state.

One gruesome clip taken by a Mexican soldier allegedly involved in the firefight shows a bullet casing lodged in his face following the raid.

Narco gangs responded to El Mencho's death by blockading highways,

setting cars ablaze and torching businesses as part of their retaliation over the crime boss's death.

A harrowing video taken from the Guanajonto province shows a screaming woman with her clothes on fire,

bursting out of a burning convenience store as horrified bystanders attempt to put out the flames.

Violence spread quickly along the country's west coast, reaching up to the US Border with California.

Dozens of people, including cartel members, National Guard members and civilians have been declared dead as a result of the clashes.

Footage from within Jalisco shows plumes of smoke billowing into the air from city skylines and apparent bullet holes in storefronts.

The violence eventually shut down the country's second-largest city, Jalisco's state capital of Guadalajara,

as cartel members engaged in running gun battles with authorities.

The major Mexican resort town of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco was under siege on February 22,

with tourists being warned to stay indoors as narco gangs went on a rampage.

Witnesses told Fox News they were forced to evacuate their rooms with limited hotel food.

And even venture outside in search of meals while waiting for Mexican authorities to regain control of the city.

As panic spread throughout the region, reports initially surfaced of gunfire at Guadalajara International Airport on February 22,

with one video posted online showing what appeared to be panicked passengers running for their lives.

In a statement later in the day, The Pacific Airport Group said the Mexican National Guard had been dispatched to the bustling airport,

but maintained that no incidents have been reported inside the facilities and that it was operating as usual.

The violence has paralyzed a hugely populated swath of Mexico,

with major US Airlines canceling travel in and out of Puerto Vallarta on February 23.

Puerto Vallarta is the country's fourth-largest tourism destination.

While Guadalajara's airport is the country's third busiest, with 18.7 million travelers every year.

Four professional soccer matches between local clubs in Mexico were also postponed amid the violence near Guadalajara —

one of the country's host cities for the 2026 World Cup.

According to one expert, the killing of El Mencho could trigger a total war against the Mexican state.

Security expert David Salcedo warned CNN Español.

"This didn't seem to be just an operation to capture 'El Mencho,'

but to exterminate him, to use lethal force to bring him down," Salcedo told CNN.

"In the criminal underworld, such actions are not simply overlooked.

narco terrorism, blockades and fires in grocery stores across Mexico," he added.

On Monday, February 23, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, along with authorities,

reported that 2,500 troops had been deployed to Jalisco and neighboring states amid the chaos in the country that followed El Mencho's death,

claiming that, "normality was reinstalled after military personnel were deployed."

They also reported that 30 cartel operatives were killed in the violence along with one female bystander,

while 70 people were arrested in seven states across the country.

Oseguera Cervantes, a sixth-grade dropout and a former cop,

became one of Mexico's most feared cartel bosses,

following the arrest and conviction of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán by US authorities.

The 59-year-old kingpin died in Tapalpa in Jalisco following a raid by Mexican forces.

The notorious drug kingpin was seriously injured in a firefight between military commandos and his bodyguards,

and died shortly after from injuries en route to Mexico City.

According to the White House, the US provided intelligence support for the operation, which Sheinbaum confirmed.

However, she noted there was no US participation.

El Mencho had been indicted several Times in Washington, D.C. since 2017.

Most recently, in April 2022, when he was charged with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances for illegal importation into the US.