On Sunday, Feb. 23, both tourists and locals alike took shelter in various states of Mexico following violence that ensued following the death of a prominent cartel leader.
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, more commonly known by “El Mencho”—a hypocoristic for the name Nemesio—was killed following a military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Feb. 22. Although Oseguera was not killed during the operation, rather severely wounded, he later died in the subsequent air transfer headed to Mexico City. The operation also resulted in the deaths of 62 people, 25 of them being members of the Mexican National Guard military police and 34 of them being suspected gang members.
Oseguera was the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), as well as one of the four founding members of the crime organization along with Emilio Alejandro Pulido Saldaña, Martín Arzola Ortega, and Érick Valencia Salazar. However, Oseguera was the only remaining active founder and leader, as his co-conspirators had all either founded another organization, died, or been captured and extradited to the U.S., respectively. CJNG is notorious for large demonstrations of violence—including the deadliest attack on security forces in modern Mexican history that involved the ambush and killing of 15 Mexican police officers—as well as large public relations campaigns intended to lure prospective members, the use of military-scale force, and kidnappings.
CJNG, which was originally founded in 2009, rose to prominence in the remnants of the Milenio Cartel after its leader, Óscar Orlando Nava Valencia, was arrested. This power vacuum would lead to the founding of CJNG, and the group originally operated as an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel, the most powerful cartel in the nation at the time. After becoming an organization of their own in 2010, the cartel quickly became powerful, particularly due to their rapid militarization attributed to the “Iron River,” the illegal flow of firearms and other militia-related material from the United States into Mexico, which transports an estimated more than 200,000 weapons yearly.
The cartel quickly established dominance in Mexico and would often absorb smaller “orphan” organizations based on a sort of “franchise” business model. Because of this, CJNG successfully expanded its operations and recruitment efforts into 27 of the 32 states of Mexico. This too would draw the attention of the U.S., with officials in 2020 calling the cartel its “biggest criminal drug threat.”
The violence that took place across Mexico following the killing of Oseguera was a retaliatory effort by CJNG. There have been attacks and destructive efforts across Mexico, but Jalisco, the cartel’s home state, has been receiving a larger amount of reprisal.
Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch told reporters on Monday that there had been “27 cowardly attacks against authorities in Jalisco” and also stated that 30 cartel operatives had been killed, with an additional 70 people being arrested in several states.
Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla and the defense ministry detailed that the attacks in Jalisco were organized by one of Oseguera’s closest confidants, “El Tuli”, who was killed in a conflict with security forces when they attempted to detain him. Additionally, Trevilla mentioned that there is a 20,000 pesos ($1,160) reward for the deaths of military personnel.
García added that there is a realistic threat of additional violence and they are closely monitoring for any restructuring within the cartel that could cause more havoc. “There is already a specific surveillance of several leaders of this criminal organization,” he said.
One of the primary concerns for the U.S. is the American citizens on vacation in Puerto Vallarta and other various tourist spots across the country. The U.S. State Department on Feb. 23 sent out a security alert advising Americans in Mexico to “shelter in place” until further notice.
Flights into Jalisco and particularly Guadalajara International Airport were paused on Sunday and have slowly begun to resume as of Monday, with Aeromexico and Air Canada both saying they would begin to allow flights into the state again.
The Mexican armed forces have begun to increase their presence in various states, especially in Jalisco, where they deployed over 2,000 additional troops.
With more violence looming, it has become difficult for tourists to trust the area. The increased violence could harm not only the Mexican people and infrastructure, but the economy as well, which is very dependent on tourism. This issue of violence is even more pressing with the FIFA World Cup being held in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state. There is still much to be done and much to see as to what the Mexican government will do regarding the security issues troubling Mexicans and tourists alike.
Political science major interested in politics
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.