Mexican security forces killed the country’s most-wanted cartel leader, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, in a high-stakes operation Sunday.
Oseguera was the leader and co-founder of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a criminal group that has rapidly expanded its influence in recent years, becoming one of the main traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.
The news of Oseguera’s death plunged large swaths of Mexico into a state of chaos as cartel forces carried out a frenzy of retaliatory violence. Gangs set up fiery blockades on the streets and engaged in shootouts with the military. Airlines suspended their flights to the region, and the United States urged its nationals to shelter in place during the disorder. Amid the chaos, 25…