LatinNews Daily - 02 March 2026

Mexico: On 25 February Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that she had discussed the operation which resulted in the killing of Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), on 22 February during a short telephone call with US President Donald Trump. Speaking at a press conference, Sheinbaum said that the call had taken place the day after the operation and that she had told Trump about how it had gone, stressing that “we had help in intelligence from the US government” and that “coordination was going very well”. President Trump said in a post on social media that the call was “very productive” adding that “we will be speaking again soon, and ultimately, setting up meetings in our respective countries.” This comes as the director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), or drug czar, Sara Carter, visited Mexico in the aftermath of El Mencho’s killing. Carter wrote on social media on 24 February that the US was “working day and night” with Mexican authorities to “eliminate the cartels and trafficking of illegal drugs”, after a meeting with Mexican security officials that day to discuss the situation following the operation. The ONDCP stated on social media that during the meeting Carter and the US ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, commended Mexican military and security leadership on the operation, which Johnson described on X as “a major blow to one of the most violent criminal organizations”. In the wake of the violence sparked by El Mencho’s killing on 22 February, the US embassy issued a notice to US citizens to “shelter in place” in Jalisco and other affected states, as well as placing restrictions on US government staff in Mexico. These were lifted on 24 and 25 February, respectively.

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