DHS officials watch for response by US-based cartel networks after leader killed

Politics Homeland security officials watching for response by cartel's U.S.-based networks after leader killed By Nicole Sganga , Nicole Sganga Homeland Security and Justice Correspondent Nicole Sganga is CBS News' homeland security and justice correspondent. She is based in Washington, D.C., and reports for all shows and platforms. Read Full Bio Nicole Sganga , Eleanor Watson Eleanor Watson CBS News Reporter Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon. Read Full Bio Eleanor Watson February 23, 2026 / 1:33 PM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Homeland security officials are watching for a response from Jalisco New Generation Cartel's U.S.-based trafficking and financial networks after Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes in a raid Sunday. The cartel, also known as CJNG, maintains distribution, logistics and money-movement infrastructure across the United States. While officials say there is no indication of an imminent threat to the U.S. as a result of the operation that killed Cervantes, law enforcement agencies are monitoring any potential increases in violence, coercion or debt-collection activity inside domestic trafficking corridors. Mexican authorities in recent months have also transferred dozens of cartel suspects into U.S. custody in several batches, part of a broader bilateral enforcement surge that has placed CJNG and other groups under sustained pressure. According to a source briefed on the operation, the raid was the culmination of intensified U.S.-Mexico counter-cartel cooperation under Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Intelligence sharing has markedly expanded in recent months through newly emphasized joint interagency channels tied to U.S. Northern Command. A defense official told CBS News on Sunday a counter-cartel task force the Pentagon established under U.S. Northern Command in January "played a role in that the Joint Interagency Task Force regularly works with the Me...