A newly formed U.S.-military-led intelligence task force played a supporting role in the Mexican military operation that killed notorious drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” in Jalisco on Sunday, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. The Joint Interagency Task Force–Counter Cartel (JITF-CC), launched last month, is designed to map and disrupt cartel networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border. While U.S. authorities reportedly provided intelligence, officials emphasized that the raid itself was planned and executed solely by Mexican forces, with no American troops on the ground.
Oseguera, 60, was the elusive leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most dominant criminal organizations and a major trafficker of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States. His killing triggered widespread violence across several Mexican states, including highway blockades and vehicles set ablaze by cartel gunmen. Mexican authorities confirmed receiving “complementary information” from the United States, while a former U.S. official said Washington had compiled a detailed intelligence dossier on the kingpin, who carried a $15 million U.S. bounty.
The operation marks a significant blow to organized crime but also highlights growing U.S. involvement in counter-cartel efforts. The JITF-CC, led by Brigadier General Maurizio Calabrese, aims to apply counterterrorism-style intelligence methods—previously used against groups like ISIS—to dismantle cartel structures. U.S. officials say the strategy is part of a broader push to curb drug trafficking, especially after Washington designated major Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, enabling expanded military intelligence and surveillance support.
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