The Mexican Secretariat of National Defence said Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho”, was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, on Sunday and died while being flown to Mexico City.
He had a $15m bounty on his head from the United States.
The Mexican operation set off a wave of violence, with gunmen torching cars and blocking highways in more than half a dozen states, including Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Nayarit, Guanajuato, and Tamaulipas, according to Al Jazeera.
Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, which will host several matches in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, was turned into a ghost town on Sunday night as civilians hunkered down.
Videos circulating on social media showed people sprinting through the Guadalajara airport in panic and smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta.
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus told residents to stay home and suspended public transportation.
School was cancelled on Monday in several states.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised the country’s security forces in a post on X and called for calm.
MNA
