The Mexican military killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted cartel boss, during an operation aided by U.S. intelligence information in Tapalpa, a town within the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Violence spread after Oseguera Cervantes’ Feb. 22 killing, with suspected gang members torching buses and businesses while clashing with the authorities in multiple Mexican cities, including Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco.
Images of Puerto Vallarta in flames have beenwidelyreported, but one photo shared online is not real.
A Feb. 22 TikTok post said it shows an image of Puerto Vallarta with scattered buildings on fire.
“This is not a scene from a movie, this is the city of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco in Mexico. Look at all these fires going around the city,” says the man in the TikTok video. “Well, what’s happening is they’re saying that they took down the leader of El Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, AKA El Mencho… and all his people are going around all the city and just burning cars, shooting random people, fighting against the police.”
InstagramandX users also shared the same image with English and Spanish captions claiming to show the unrest in Puerto Vallarta.
(Screenshot of the Instagram post.)
But that was generated with artificial intelligence.
The image shows the logo of Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, at the bottom right corner.
PolitiFact uploaded the image to Gemini and it confirmed the image was generated using its generative AI program.
Visual inconsistencies signal the image is fake. Some of the cars on the streets are indistinguishable, while others look on top of each other. Some of the buildings look distorted and the smoke and the fire have unusual patterns. For example, the fire is bright orange and it sits on top of the buildings without consuming the structure, and the smoke seems to be going up in the same direction without being disrupted by the wind.
(Screenshot of AI-generated image highlighting with red circles visual inconsistencies. At the bottom right is the Google Gemini logo.)
This image doesn’t show Puerto Vallarta after the killing of Oseguera Cervantes. We rate this claim False.
The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to ongoing security operations after the Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” was killed on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.Roadblocks and burning vehiclesThe killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.US had offered up to $15 million for his captureThe U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.Known as aggressive cartelThe Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S., where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85”, created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split, and for years, the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.Indicted several times in the United StatesSince 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.Last year, people searching for missing relatives found piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.__AP writer María Verza contributed to this report.
The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to ongoing security operations after the Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” was killed on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration its efforts.
Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him on Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.
During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment.
Roadblocks and burning vehicles
The killing of the powerful drug lord set off several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations. Jalisco canceled school in the state for Monday.
Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state’s capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta “due to an ongoing security situation” and advised customers not to go to their airport.
In Guadalajara, the state capital, burning vehicles blocked roads. Mexico’s second-largest city is scheduled to host matches during this summer’s soccer World Cup.
Canada’s embassy in Mexico warned its citizens in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place and generally to keep a low profile in Jalisco.
Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus told residents to stay at home and suspended public transportation.
US had offered up to $15 million for his capture
The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009.
In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking.
Known as aggressive cartel
The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.
The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, both in U.S. custody.
Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was originally from Aguililla in the neighboring state of Michoacan. He had been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. When he was younger, he migrated to the U.S., where he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison.
Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity with drug lord Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho Coronel.” After Villarreal’s death, Oseguera Cervantes and Erik Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85”, created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel around 2007.
Initially, they worked for the Sinaloa Cartel, but eventually split, and for years, the two cartels have battled for territory across Mexico.
Indicted several times in the United States
Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.
Last year, people searching for missing relatives found piles of shoes and other clothing, as well as bone fragments at what authorities later said was a Jalisco cartel recruitment and training site.
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities have killed one of the world’s most wanted drug-traffickers, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” founder and leader of the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel, which controls drug trafficking, extortion, fuel theft and other rackets throughout Mexico.
The Mexican Defense Ministry confirmed the death, saying Oseguera was wounded during a Sunday morning operation in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco state. Oseguera died while being transported via air with other cartel associates to Mexico City for treatment, the military said.
Oseguera’s death is the most significant take-down of a Mexican drug capo since the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, then head of the Sinaloa cartel, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.
In the past, the capture or death of a cartel leader has led to violence, as factions compete for control. On Sunday, chaos erupted across western Mexico.
A family sheltering in place in the state of Jalisco — who asked not to be identified because of safety concerns — said cartel members were pulling people out of vehicles in the street and setting them on fire. Cars, trucks and buses going up in flames and emitting plumes of dark smoke were visible on roads in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, according to footage circulating on social media, as well as in the states of Nayarit and Michoacán.
The governor of Jalisco reported roadblocks and other disturbances throughout the western state and advised people to stay home. Flights were suspended at the airport in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco.
Authorities also reported blocked roads in other areas of Mexico where the cartel held sway. Criminal groups in Mexico often use roadblocks to protest enforcement actions.
The reported death of Oseguera is a major achievement for the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has been under intense pressure from the Trump administration to crack down on U.S.-bound drug trafficking. In the last year, Mexico has dispatched scores of cartel suspects to the United States to face justice.
U.S. authorities had offered a $15-million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Oseguera.
It was not immediately clear what role, if any, U.S. authorities had in the operation to take down Oseguera. Sheinbaum has pledged “cooperation and coordination” with U.S. officials, but has rejected any direct U.S. role on the ground in anti-cartel operations.
Oseguera is said to have begun his career as a small-time heroin dealer in San Francisco.
One of the world’s most wanted criminals, rumors about El Mencho’s death and capture have circulated in the past and turned out to be false. But in recent years, authorities have seemingly closed in, capturing several high-ranking associates and close family members.
Oseguera oversaw a military-like buildup of his cartel, which pioneered the use of armored vehicles, land mines, drones and other military hardware. Among other attacks, the Jalisco gang was blamed for the 2015 downing of a Mexican military helicopter, which resulted in the the death of nine Mexican law enforcement officials. The helicopter — reportedly hit with U.S.-made .50-caliber machine-gun rounds — was on a mission to capture the elusive cartel boss.
His son, Rubén Oseguera González, known as “El Menchito,” was captured and extradited from Mexico in February 2020. He was convicted in 2024 on an array of drug and weapons charges related to his leadership role in the cartel and is now serving a life sentence.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons records show he is housed at a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., know as the “Alcatraz of The Rockies,” that also houses the “El Chapo” and other high-profile criminals.
His daughter, Jessica Johanna Oseguera González, was arrested while visiting one of her brother’s court proceedings and eventually pleaded guilty to violations of the sop-called Kingpin Act related to money laundering. She reportedly spent just over two years in prison before her release in 2022.
Times staff writers McDonnell, Linthicum and Hamilton reported from Mexico City, New York and San Francisco, respectively. Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum, Keegan Hamilton
MEXICO CITY — Adrián Ramírez hadn’t been to his hometown in western Mexico for more than two decades. When he finally returned there early last year after being deported from the United States, he found the place transformed.
Ramírez remembered the town as vibrant. But the discotheque where he used to dance through the night in his 20s was gone. The bustling evening market, where locals gather for tacos, now empties out early. After 10 p.m., cartel members wielding military-grade weapons take control of the streets.
“It is no longer the same Mexico of my childhood,” said Ramírez, 45, who asked to be identified by his middle and last name for security reasons. “There was more joy, more freedom. But that’s not the case anymore.”
Anyone returning to their hometown after decades away will note changes — old businesses close and new ones open, some people move away and others die. Adjusting to such shifts has long been part of the Mexican migrant experience.
But many of the tens of thousands of people who have been deported to Mexico by the Trump administration have spent decades in the U.S. and are discovering that their country has also changed in more profound ways.
Criminal groups, better armed and better organized than in the past, now control about a third of Mexican territory, according to an analysis by the U.S. military. Gangs have branched out beyond drug trafficking to extort money from small businesses and dominate entire industries, such as the avocado and lime trade. In some regions, criminals charge taxes on just about anything — tortillas and chicken, cigarettes and beer.
Military forces provide security during a meeting about the Michoacan Plan for Peace and Justice, at the facilities of the Morelos barracks in the XXI Military Zone in Morelia, Micoacan, Mexico, in November.
(Enrique Castro / AFP via Getty Images)
Parts of Michoacán, the state where Ramírez is from, now resemble an actual battlefield, with criminal groups fighting each other with grenade launchers, drones rigged with explosives and improvised land mines.
Returning migrants are vulnerable to violence because they stand out. Many speak Spanglish. Their stylish haircuts, often with fades on the sides, set them apart in rural communities. So does their gringo-style attire, like baggy pants and T-shirts touting their favorite sports teams — Dodgers, Raiders, Dallas Cowboys. Ramírez said that even his mannerisms, which had changed from years up north, quickly identified him as an outsider.
Cartels single out returning migrants for kidnapping or extortion because they are perceived to have money, said Israel Concha, who runs Nuevo Comienzos, or New Beginnings, a nonprofit with offices in Las Vegas and Mexico City that supports deportees. Returnees often don’t know how to navigate cartel-run checkpoints or local rules set by criminal groups.
“We’re an easy target,” Concha said.
Concha said he was abducted and tortured by cartel members in 2014 after he was deported to Mexico. He said 16 migrants from his organization’s support group have been assassinated or disappeared since he founded his organization.
Ten of those cases happened in the last year.
In May, a recently returned man vanished after leaving his job at a hotel in the central state of Querétaro, Concha said. His parents, giving up hope of finding him alive, held a funeral and a Mass for him in October.
Ramírez left his town in Michoacán state for the United States when he was 21, hoping to save money so he could come back home and build a house of his own.
But life happened — Ramírez got married and had three children — and he stayed. He was washing cars and driving for Uber in Nashville before he was deported.
Returning to Michoacán was bittersweet. He cried with happiness as he hugged his mother and siblings for the first time in years. But shortly after, he was interrogated by a cartel member on the street who wanted to know his name and what he did for a living. Another cartel member photographed him while he strolled the town plaza.
His town had once been famous for its cheese production. Now its most dominant industry is fuel theft, a booming multimillion-dollar enterprise in Mexico. Criminals with the Jalisco New Generation cartel recently burned down the town’s two gas stations and killed the owner to assert their control over the pueblo, Ramírez said. They then set up their own illegal stations, leaving locals no choice but to buy from them.
The authorities were no help.
Ramírez learned from his family that the mayor had been handpicked by the cartel. The police are also in cahoots with criminals. After a relative suffered an accident, the cops who responded ended up extorting money from him, Ramírez said.
Ramírez began to fear for his life. He wondered whether it might be time to leave, and if so, where he would go.
A growing number of Mexicans are being forced to flee their communities because of violence, data show. The conflict-ridden states of Michoacán, Chiapas and Zacatecas have seen particularly high levels of displacement.
Israel Ibarra, a migration expert at the College of the Northern Border, said migrants returning to war-torn communities often end up having to leave again.
“They are not only becoming deported people,” he said. “They will experience double-forced displacement.”
That is what happened to a man who returned to a town few hours away from where Ramírez grew up, in the mountains of Michoacán. A local rancher hired the migrant to manage his herd of cattle.
Contracting outsiders requires vetting and approval by the regional faction of the cartel, which the rancher had not done. No locals had dared help the rancher repair his fence and care for his herd because of the cartel requisites, leaving the rancher with a limited employment pool.
The migrant, who declined to provide his name because he feared for his life, didn’t fully recognize the power wielded by cartels and took the job. The rancher also paid better than others, to the consternation of the Jalisco cartel, which controls wages in the area.
One morning, sicarios arrived at the migrant’s home and fired round after round of bullets into the building. The worker fled out the back door as gunmen stormed in.
“They left me in ruin,” he said. “They took everything.” He went into hiding in Michoacán’s capital.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum touts data showing that homicides fell during her first year in office. But the number of people being disappeared has surged across the country, particularly in cartel-controlled regions. And shocking acts of violence continue to make headlines.
“For people who left a long time ago, many of them are coming back to communities that are much more violent than they were when they left,” said Andrew Selee of the Washington, D.C.-based Migration Policy Institute.
In Michocán in the fall, the Jalisco cartel is accused of assassinating a prominent mayor who had vowed to hold criminals accountable. In December the group detonated a car bomb in a municipality located along a top cocaine-trafficking route, killing four police officers.
Deportations to Mexico were fewer last year than either of the two previous years, according to data from the country’s National Migration Institute. But President Trump’s hard-line deportation campaign means fewer migrants who were returned to Mexico are attempting to cross back into the the U.S., experts said.
Sheinbaum’s government launched a reintegration program called México te Abraza, or Mexico welcomes you with open arms, that has provided limited support to those returning, according to migrant advocates.
Under the program, migrants are supposed to be given around $100 and a bus ticket to their hometown. But Concha said that some don’t receive the money and that migrants need much more help. “The program doesn’t work,” Concha said. “We need something more comprehensive that also supports emotional and mental health.”
Ramírez wants to return to the U.S. to be with his family but is afraid of ending up in detention there.
He misses his children, and dreams of buying them plane tickets so they can visit. But he is afraid of exposing them to Mexico’s violence. “It’s a very different kind of life here,” he said. “It hurts me what’s happening.”
He decided to leave his pueblo a few months ago. The town where he is now living seems more tranquil, although it is also controlled by the Jalisco cartel. After he got a job at a tortilleria, his new employer warned him: Cartel members may stop by to ask him where he’s from.
This article was co-published with Puente News Collaborative, a bilingual nonprofit newsroom that covers stories from Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico border.
