A secretive US military task force, a $15 million bounty, and Mexico’s most wanted cartel boss — here’s what we now know.
A newly formed US military-led intelligence task force played a role in the Mexican operation that killed Nemesio Oseguera, the notorious cartel leader known as “El Mencho,” according to US defense officials.
The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel (JITF-CC), launched last month, specializes in mapping cartel networks operating across the US-Mexico border. A US defense official told Reuters the unit contributed intelligence ahead of Sunday’s raid in Jalisco, though the operation itself was carried out entirely by Mexican forces.
A former US official said Washington assembled a detailed “target package” on Oseguera, combining intelligence and law enforcement data, and shared it with Mexico. El Mencho had long ranked at or near the top of US priority targets, with a $15 million bounty on his head.
Mexico’s defense ministry confirmed the United States provided “complementary information,” but stressed the mission was designed and executed by Mexican authorities without US troops on the ground.
Oseguera, 60, led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), widely viewed as one of Mexico’s most sophisticated criminal organizations. His death triggered immediate retaliation, including torched vehicles and highway blockades across multiple states.
The operation marks a significant win for Mexico’s fight against drug trafficking networks that funnel billions of dollars’ worth of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States. It also underscores growing US involvement in cartel targeting under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has pressed Mexico to intensify its crackdown and has designated cartels as terrorist organizations.
Brigadier General Maurizio Calabrese, who leads the new task force, recently said the US military is applying lessons learned from counterterrorism campaigns against al-Qaeda and ISIS to dismantle cartel networks. He estimates that while a few hundred figures sit at the top of cartel hierarchies, as many as 200,000 to 250,000 contractors assist with drug movement.
The task force is part of a broader US strategy that includes expanded surveillance, military control along parts of the border and maritime strikes against suspected drug vessels.
For Washington and Mexico City alike, the killing of El Mencho sends a clear message. But history suggests that removing a cartel kingpin rarely ends the violence — it often reshuffles it.
