Top Mexican drug cartel leader killed

Mexico confirmed on Sunday (February 22, 2026) that soldiers killed a powerful drug cartel leader who was one of the most wanted men here and in the United States.

Nemesio Oseguera, the 59-year-old leader of the violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was wounded in a clash with soldiers in the town of Tapalpa and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said in a statement.

He had a $15 million bounty on his head.

Oseguera, whose nickname was "El Mencho," is one of the biggest Mexican drug suspects to be taken down since the capture of the founders of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and Ismael Zambada. Both are now serving time in the United States.