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Tag: western state

  • Mexican army kills ‘El Mencho,’ Mexico’s most-wanted drug kingpin

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    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

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  • As a Colorado River deadline passes, reservoirs keep declining

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    The leaders of seven states failed to negotiate a deal to share the diminishing waters of the Colorado River by a Trump administration deadline on Saturday, leaving the Southwest in a quagmire with uncertain repercussions while the river’s depleted reservoirs continue to decline.

    Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in an interview with The Times that the impasse now appears so intractable that Trump administration officials should take a step back, abandon the current effort and begin all over again.

    Babbitt said he believes it would be a mistake for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “try to impose a long-term solution” by ordering major water cuts across the Southwest — which would likely set off a lengthy court battle.

    “We need a fresh start,” Babbitt said. “I believe that in the absence of a unanimous agreement, [the Interior Department] should renew the existing agreements for five years, and then we should start all over. We should scrap the entire process and invent a new one.”

    Officials for the seven states have tried to boost reservoir levels via voluntary water cutbacks and federal payments to farmers who agree to leave fields dry part of the year. But after more than two years of trying to hash out new long-term rules for sharing water, they remain deadlocked; the existing rules are set to expire at the end of this year.

    The states similarly blew past an earlier federal deadline in November.

    Interior Department officials have not said how they will respond. The agency is considering four options for imposing cutbacks starting next year, as well as the option of taking no action.

    Babbitt, who was Interior secretary under President Clinton from 1993 to 2001, said he thinks the Trump administration’s options are too narrow and inadequate. They would place the burden of water cuts on Arizona, California and Nevada while not requiring any for the four other upriver states — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

    Without a consensus, the only reasonable approach is to extend existing water-saving agreements for a few years while making a new push for solutions, Babbitt said.

    Federal officials have “missed the opportunity” to take a strong leadership role, he said, and it’s time to reimagine the effort as a “much more inclusive, public, broad” process.

    The river provides for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland, from the Rocky Mountains to northern Mexico. California uses more water than any other state but has cut back substantially in recent years.

    Since 2000, relentless drought intensified by climate change has sapped the river’s flow and left reservoirs depleted. This winter’s record warmth and lack of storms has left the Rockies with very little snow.

    Lake Mead, the river’s largest reservoir, is now 34% full, while Lake Powell is at 26%.

    “Our states have conserved large volumes of water in recent years,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a joint statement with Arizona’s Katie Hobbs and Nevada’s Joe Lombardo. “Our stance remains firm and fair: all seven basin states must share in the responsibility of conservation.”

    The states’ positions haven’t changed much in the last two years, said JB Hamby, California’s lead negotiator, and moving toward an agreement will require firm commitments for cuts by all.

    Officials representing the four Upper Basin states said they’ve offered compromises and are prepared to continue negotiating. In a written statement, they stressed they are already dealing with substantial water cuts, and said their downstream neighbors are trying to secure water “that simply does not exist.”

    The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s latest forecast shows the amount of runoff flowing into Lake Powell will decrease so dramatically this year that the dropping reservoir levels could render Glen Canyon Dam unable to continue generating electricity.

    The Interior Department said in a written statement Saturday that it will finalize new rules by Oct. 1, and it “cannot delay action.” The agency is accepting comments from the public as part of its review of options until March 2.

    “Negotiation efforts have been productive,” Burgum said. “We believe that a fair compromise with shared responsibility remains within reach.”

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    Ian James

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