Mexico's most wanted drug lord 'El Mencho' killed in military operation | BBC News

Hello, welcome. I'm Nomia Iqbal. In Mexico, the army has confirmed the death of one of the country's most feared drug lords known as El Mencho, caught and killed in a dawn raid. He was killed in an operation in the town of Tlalpapa. The US had previously issued a $15 million reward for the capture of the co-founder and leader of the Jalisco New Generation drugs cartel, it's feared for its use of extreme violence. Violence broke out in the country as a result of his killing.

Suspected members of the cartel began burning dozens of cars and trucks in the state and a neighbouring state as the army moved in, possibly to try to delay the operation. Our Latin American correspondent Will Grant joins us now from Mexico. Good to have you with us, Will. First of all, for people who might not know anything about El Mencho, who was he?

He was crucial, Nami. We often talk in Mexico about kingpins and drug lords and so on. This was one of the very, very biggest. In this particular moment in time, the most wanted man in Mexico, by some distance, I would say. The feared leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which is a vast criminal organisation which traffics tonnes and tonnes of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl into the United States, responsible for scores of murders a year.

And one of those who really underpins the criminal underworld in this nation. Of course, it's a major victory on some level for the authorities here, for the military who killed him in a raid, injured him initially, and then he died en route to Mexico City.

But of course, we're seeing the unfolding violence that goes with that as his organisation is extremely powerful and very, very well armed.

Now National Guard have been deployed outside the Attorney's Office after that killing. We are just showing some live pictures there in Mexico City of the National Guard outside the office. And Will, just give us a sense of what happens when leaders are taken out, this sort of kingpin strategy. Does it work? Is it something that – what happens as a result of it?

It can have an impact. I mean, somebody like El Menchal, these organisations can be quite top-heavy in the sense that an individual leader can be an important, more than just a cog in a bigger machine. They are leaders for that very reason. They lead troops, they lead men, and they bring strategy to the table. That said, where one leader falls, another is invariably ready to take his place or her place. There are important women in drug trafficking, too.

But it is key that when one falls, there's generally people beneath him to replace him. We'll see what happens in this particular instance. It is interesting, this degree of violence and how quickly it has unfolded and a real challenge for law enforcement in cities across Mexico. Let's just mention some of those cities. They include Guadalajara, the state capital, important cultural centre in Mexico, and going to be a host city of the FIFA World Cup this summer. They include Puerto Vallarta, a very, very important tourist hotspot in the country

where potentially thousands of tourists currently hold up. So, you know, this is a major moment in sort of drug war history in Mexico.

And Will, I think we're still trying to work out, you might actually know more than I do if the US were involved in any capacity in this operation, but nonetheless, I imagine that this will be seen as a victory by President Trump, the death of someone as

significant as Al Mencho. Yeah, I mean, what we're hearing from the Mexican embassy in the United States is that there was US involvement in terms of intelligence work and giving it that slight sense of a joint operation in that regard. My understanding is that what unfolded on the ground was a Mexican military raid that led to the death of El Mencho, but with intelligence support from the United States. We will doubtless hear more during the week, particularly once President Claudia Sheinbaum has her early morning

press briefing on Monday. But you are right, this will be played as a victory on both sides of the border with Donald Trump pushing, since he returned to office, for greater action to take place against

Mexican cartels. Thank you so much, Will. Good to talk to you. That is Will Grant there, our Latin America correspondent. Chris Dolby is a policy analyst, journalist and author of a book about the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, it's called CNJG, Quick Guide to Mexico's Deadliest Cartel, and he told us more about the leader of

the organization. Well Mencho was without competition, Mexico's deadliest and most influential drug trafficker. He is on the level of El Chapo or Pablo Escobar for his role in the international drug trade. He was also the founder of the CJNG, which for the last 15 years he ruled with an almost cult of personality level of leadership. And his death leaves an enormous vacuum, which I fear will be filled with even more drug violence across Mexico.

Well, this is the fear, isn't it, that if you take out the leader, it just triggers more violence and fragmentation? Do you think that is likely to happen now? I mean, what is the benefit of taking someone else like that?

Without a doubt, El Mencho was responsible directly and indirectly for the violent death of thousands of people, and he needed to be brought to justice. However, the kingpin strategy, as you rightfully say, has a major flaw. When you remove the top dog, his lieutenants are going to fight more aggressively against each other to slice up the criminal empire. And the CJNG had one hell of a criminal empire, from drugs to illegal mining to oil theft

to migrant smuggling to extortion. There's a lot for people to fight over. And El Mencho, as I said, had this sort of iron grip over the CJNG for 15 years. There was no talk of a successor. There was no talk of someone picked to be his heir. There are four, five, six different leaders,

each with significant ground across Mexico, each with a lot of troops under their command. And I'm not aware of any one of them having the ability to take over where Al Mencho left.

We're just seeing some pictures now of the aftermath of the operation. As I mentioned, suspected members of the cartel burnt dozens of cars and trucks in Jalisco, a neighbouring state as the army was moving in. Just bringing you back into this, Chris, in terms of, you know, the U.S. isn't—they weren't involved in the operation, as my understanding is, but nonetheless, his killing is—it could be seen as some sort of prize to President Trump. We know there's been months of pressure over fentanyl and, you

know, designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Would you would you characterize that as a win for the U.S.?

It's certainly going to be played that way by Donald Trump and his administration. El Mencho was a highly recognizable drug leader. He's been named as a terrorist. He was one of the most wanted men by the Department of Justice with a bounty of $50 million on his head. So removing him is going to be played by the U.S. as, look at what Mexico does when we force them to play ball with us. And the narco blockades, as you described, that's fairly standard when a leader of this

magnitude is killed or captured. You do see a lot of violence in the area around his capture. What worries me is what happens a week, a month, a year down the line when the fallout of all this happens. From what we've seen from the U.S. and Mexican discussions recently, that hasn't really factored in. It really has been all about the PR value of capturing or killing these

very well-known kingpins.

Chris Dolby there. Just to let you know, the US Department of State has issued a shelter-in-place warning for US citizens in various states in Mexico, specifically Jalisco. The former US ambassador to Mexico and the Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has described El Mencho on social media as one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins. He added that his death was a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America and the world and we'll keep you across that story as it the US, Latin America and the world and we'll keep you across that story as it

develops.