Mexico Is on Edge After the Killing of a Cartel Boss

Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Newsletter The Evening Mexico Is on Edge After the Killing of a Cartel Boss Also, a blizzard sweeps through the Northeast. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday. Share full article By Matthew Cullen Feb. 23, 2026, 6:01 p.m. ET Many people in Mexico awoke today with unease. Violence erupted across the country over the weekend after the leader of the nation’s most powerful criminal organization was killed yesterday in a Mexican military raid. Followers of the cartel boss attacked government security forces, blocked roads and set fire to stores. Videos show how the violence spread . Order appeared to be largely restored by this afternoon. But schools, gas stations and supermarkets remained closed today in Guadalajara, a city near the epicenter of the chaos. “Normally clogged thoroughfares had nearly empty stretches of asphalt,” our reporter there, Paulina Villegas Vargas, said. “Along the main highway near the airport, a charred bus lay on its side, its metal frame still smelling of smoke.” Airlines and bus companies canceled routes, trapping tourists in beach destinations like Puerto Vallarta . They were told to shelter in place. Twenty-five members of the national guard were killed in the operation targeting Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — who went by “El Mencho” and was widely regarded as one of the country’s most violent criminal figures. Officials said they had located Oseguera, who led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, by tracking one of his romantic partners. They were also aided by C.I.A. intelligence. Here’s what we know about the operation. Oseguera’s death was a major victory for President Claudia Sheinbaum, who, unlike her predecessor, has mounted an aggressive offensive against the cartels. It could also help reduce pressure from President Trump, who has been threatening strikes in Mexico and demanding a crackdown on the cartels. For more: Most experts expect Oseguera’s cartel to live on . A blizzard slams the North...