The girlfriend of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, nicknamed ‘El Mencho’, is believed to have played a crucial role in the hunt and elimination of the drug cartel leader.
The Straits Times reported on February 24th that Mexican intelligence had been monitoring El Mencho ‘s girlfriend to track the drug lord’s whereabouts. Intelligence indicated she planned to meet El Mencho in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco state, Mexico.
Speaking at a press conference on February 23, Mexican Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla said that “one of El Mencho’s lovers” had been brought to the house in Tapalpa by an associate. On February 21, she met with Oseguera and then left.
Mexican drug lord killed after visit from his lover.
Mexican forces meticulously planned the attack on February 22nd. After confirming Oseguera’s presence at his house in Tapalpa, the military decided to raid the drug lord’s residence. El Mencho and his bodyguards fled and took refuge in the forest. El Mencho’s group engaged in a gunfight with Mexican forces. Oseguera and two bodyguards were wounded and died while being transported to the hospital.
Following El Mencho’s death, his close bodyguard, Hugo H., nicknamed “El Tuli,” ordered road blockades, vehicle arson, and attacks in retaliation for his boss’s death. The Mexican army discovered and killed El Tuli in the town of El Grullo, also in Jalisco, on February 22.
The front page of a local newspaper in Mexico City on February 23 reported the death of drug lord “El Mencho”.
PHOTO: AFP
The death of drug lord El Mencho triggered a wave of violence in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states, with numerous road blockades and vehicle arson. By February 23, the situation had calmed down somewhat, but the state of Jalisco remained volatile. Reuters reported on February 24 that Mexican authorities had deployed an additional 2,000 troops to Jalisco.
