For some time now, a series of crises and challenges have arisen within the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG), the criminal organization behind the attempted kidnapping and shooting that took place on Tuesday afternoon, October 2, in the vicinity of the Landmark shopping center in the Puerta de Hierro neighborhood of Zapopan, Jalisco.
“According to the preliminary report, they wanted to kidnap a person and clashed with the escorts. The shooting started, and the army intervened (…) Unfortunately, one person lost his life. The wounded are from both groups: bodyguards and criminal aggressors. It seems that he is a businessman dedicated to purchasing and selling vehicles,” explained Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday from the National Palace.
One factor that could be interpreted as a counterproductive signal for the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation could be the differences and internal disputes that the organization has experienced in different regions of the country over the past year.
A clear example was the brawl in the Colima prison on January 25, where nine inmates were killed. The state experienced a violent outbreak that resulted in at least 60 people killed in less than a month and the deployment of some 2,000 elements of the National Guard (GN) and the Mexican Army.
The various clashes during this period were largely attributed to differences between the CJNG and Los Mezcales, which presumably could have been motivated by the rumored death of the CJNG’s absolute leader.
Another example occurred in the magical town of Mazamitla, where, on Sunday, May 1, clashes broke out between members of the CJNG and the criminal organization identified by authorities as the Pajaros Sierra. As a result of the clashes, three men were killed, among them a chef from Mexico City who was visiting the forested area of Jalisco.
The Pajaros Sierra members were also involved in the massacre of 17 CJNG members in the town of San José de Gracia, where it is estimated that between 10 and 17 people may have lost their lives.
In the southeastern area of Michoacán, where the town of Aguililla is located, the birthplace of El Mencho, and where the fight for control of drug production and trafficking has caused the exodus of thousands of inhabitants from the region, the war between the CJNG and the Cárteles Unidos (also known as “La Resistencia”) have involved explosives, drones, and military weapons, as well as rocket launchers and “narco tanks.”
Added to this is the Zinapécuaro massacre, where Familia Michoacana gunmen killed twenty alleged CJNG members in a clandestine palenque where cockfights were being held. The main target was a CJNG leader in the area, identified as William Rivera, El Barbas.
Another more recent betrayal was when they “gave the finger” to “Doble R” and “Apa,” who were at a meeting when the Mexican army tried to arrest them on Tuesday, August 10, in a failed operation that resulted in blockades, burned vehicles, attacked establishments and general chaos in the Guadalajara metropolitan area that extended to Guanajuato.
Where is El Mencho?
One situation that could spell trouble for the cartel is the rumored death of its top leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho. In early February, a banner in the city of Colima, signed by the Colima Independent Cartel, formerly allied with the CJNG, announced the death of El Mencho from respiratory failure.
“I only owe respect and loyalty to El Mencho,” stated Jose Bernabe Brizuela Meraz, alias La Vaca, leader of the Colima Independent Cartel, also known as Los Mezcales, in the narcomanta.
El Mencho, one of the most ruthless criminal leaders, has reportedly never been able to overcome diabetes. Among the complications caused by the disease, the second leading cause of death in men is kidney failure due to the damage it causes to kidney tissue.
More on CJNG and Mexican Cartels:
- Erick Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85”, CJNG’s alleged leader, was arrested
- The war between the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG has displaced more than 850 families in Chiapas
- El Mayo Zambada ordered to eliminate the CJNG in Tijuana, and El Mencho was quick to respond
This condition would have led Oseguera Cervantes to build a small hospital in the municipality of Villa Purificación. The hospital would be located in an area of difficult access in the community of Alcíhuatl, and its extension would be forty meters wide by 20 meters long. According to local reports, it would only have four beds and six consulting rooms, in addition to a surgery and delivery area.
However, despite rumors that the drug lord is dead, the United States still offers a reward of $10 million for him. It keeps him on its list of the ten most wanted fugitives by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This newspaper has sought official statements from federal and Jalisco authorities, but so far, there have been no timely responses regarding the presumed death of Oseguera Cervantes.