Romantic tryst led to Mexican cartel leader's capture, death

A member of the National Guard stands on a vehicle at the site on the highway connecting Mexico City with the state of Puebla, where unknown assailants torched a bus and a trailer, following roadblocks and arson attacks carried out by members of organized crime in several states after a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed in Jalisco state, in Santa Rita Tlahuapan, Mexico, February 22, 2026. REUTERS/Paola Garcia

MEXICO CITY, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A tip about drug lord ⁠Nemesio Oseguera's romantic liaisons led Mexican authorities to the cartel leader's hideout in a small town of Jalisco state where he was killed, Mexican authorities said on Monday in the first account of the ambush that spawned violence across ⁠much of Mexico.

At least 62 people died in the early Sunday raid on Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," and in ensuing violence - including 25 members of the National Guard military police and 34 suspected gang members - as cartel ‌loyalists set cars ablaze in 85 roadblocks in more than a dozen states, authorities said.