CONNOR DUFFEY / ASST. NEWS EDITOR

He was a former California police officer. He picked avocados as a child in rural Mexico. He was also, by the time he died, the most wanted man in North America.

Fires and explosions spread across Mexico following the death of El Mencho. Photo courtesy of @bbcnews/Instagram

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho,” was the head of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). The group has operated out of Western Mexico since 2007 and was declared a foreign terrorist organization by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 2025. The group controls an estimated 100 drug labs throughout Mexico, netting upwards of $8 billion annually from the drug trade.

On  Feb.  22,  Mexican  special forces surrounded a mountain resort in Jalisco, Mexico, where Cervantes had visited frequently over the last two decades.  CJNG mercenaries opened fire on the soldiers as they approached, giving El Mencho the opportunity to escape to a nearby cabin. A second firefight erupted at the new location, which left El Mencho severely wounded.  He later succumbed to his wounds while being airlifted to a hospital in Mexico City.

In  the  wake of the operation, CJNG second-in-command Hugo “El Tuli” Macias Ureña offered a bounty of 20,000 pesos per Mexican soldier killed — a move designed to incentivize violence as part of the cartel’s retaliatory campaign. On the same day, El Tuli was tracked by Mexican forces to a safe house south of Guadalajara and killed.

Since then, violence and civil unrest have erupted across Mexico, with CJNG gunmen blocking and burning vehicles in more than half a dozen states, including Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Nayarit, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas. In attacks on the night of Feb. 22 in Jalisco, where the cartel is based, twenty-five National Guard officers, a state police officer, a security guard and a pregnant woman were killed.

The violence has not stayed only in Western Mexico, however. The U.S. has suffered more than 320,000 fentanyl-related deaths since 2020, and a large quantity of  the lethal opiate is smuggled across the southern border by  the  CJNG. In 2025, U.S. Border  Patrol  seized  11,500 pounds of fentanyl at the San Diego border crossing alone — enough to kill every American nearly eight  times over.

The burning of cars and blockage   of   important roadways caused the U.S. Consulate to issue a shelter-in-place order on Feb. 22 for all American citizens in Tijuana. The order was lifted days after. USD   sophomore   Ryan Canton was visiting Tijuana the   week of Feb. 23 and viewed the chaos  firsthand.

“There   was   a    massive   plume of   smoke   moving   over  the ocean from all the cars burning in Tijuana,” Canton said. “It was like watching a war zone.”

The killing of  El Mencho has sent shockwaves throughout Mexico, leading to instability and violence right on San Diego’s doorstep.

The riots in Tijuana and a potential threat to local military installations places San Diego and Toreros in a unique situation. USD senior Brynn Gerty explained how the lack of security is impacting some Toreros regarding their spring break travel plans.

“I    was    planning on   traveling to Tulum for spring break   with   some of   my   friends,”   Gerty explained. “A few of them have decided they don’t feel safe traveling anymore.”

The decision to take direct action   against   the   cartel and its   leadership   marks   a   new chapter   in Mexico, one   that   may be   difficult to navigate. Since 2012, Mexico has    taken a less direct approach to combating   cartel operations due to   the   failure of its   previous “kingpin   method.” This   method,   headed   by   former President   Calderón,   focused on the   elimination of individual     cartel      leaders rather   than   addressing   systemic issues. This approach led to the fragmentation of cartels into various splinter groups and a sharp rise in homicide rates.

Criminologist Nikos Passas offered a cautionary note during an interview with Northeastern University.

“The  problem  is   not  one leader,” Passas said. “The  problem   is   that   you   have   a whole   illicit   economy   that  is   made   up   of   all   these    structural   components.     Killing a   leader   makes  headlines,   but it   doesn’t make for   a    durable reduction of illicit  flow.”

The   influence El Mencho had over the   CJNG was  uniquely centralized and powerful. Competing cartels, such as the Sinaloa  Cartel,  deliberately avoid this centralized model of power precisely because of the discord a single  leader’s death can  cause. The cartel is now desperate for new leadership in the wake of the deaths of their two most influential leaders, creating a drug-fueled power vacuum.

On June 18, Mexico  is slated to  host  FIFA World  Cup matches in  Guadalajara,  with    a  qualifying   tournament  scheduled    for    late   March, leaving the Mexican government with an imposing deadline for peace.

The man is dead, but the cartel is not. With the scent of burning cars still fresh in the air and official government safety warnings, many Toreros  doubt travel plans  out   of   concern  for   their   safety.

Violent riots spread across Mexico following the death of El Mencho. Photo courtesy of @bbcnews/Instagram