Senator warns Mexican narco-terrorists are ‘hunting down Americans’ in war zone Puerto Vallarta as thousands try to escape
An Ohio Republican senator claimed Mexican cartels are targeting American tourists as gang unrest spreads across the country.
Bernie Moreno wrote on X on Monday that the U.S. should halt trade talks and warned of ‘violent and terminal retribution’ if any American is harmed in Mexico.
The US State Department has issued a shelter in place order due to ‘ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity’ that encompasses vacation hotspots like Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
Meanwhile, the chaos has reportedly spread to popular spring break towns across the country, triggering widespread flight cancellations from Mexico to the United States and leaving travelers scrambling to get home.
President Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to declare that the nation needed to ‘step up their effort’ on cartel and drug problems as cars and businesses were destroyed across the country.
The gunfire between narco gangs and officials began after the Mexican Army went into the rustic town of Tapalpa, which is about 170 miles southeast of Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco on Sunday, where they killed Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes, according to high-ranking officials who spoke with local publications.
El Mencho was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels that plays a key role in trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl to the US.
Authorities in Jalisco, Michoacan and Guanajuato reported at least 14 people were killed Sunday, including seven National Guard troops as videos circulating on social media showed tourists walking on beaches with smoke rising in the distance.
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‘Pray for us’
Californians trapped as cartel unleashes hell near US border over drug kingpin’s killing
Californians have been trapped in Mexico as cartel violence engulfed a popular tourist city and spilled toward the US border.
Americans in Puerto Vallarta were urged to stay indoors as narco gangs went on a bloody rampage after Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was killed in a military raid Sunday.
Carnage spread up the west coast of the country through Sunday, with reports of attacks getting closer to the States in Baja California while gunfire erupted at Guadalajara International Airport.
Cars and businesses were also set on fire farther across the country in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cancun on the east side.
Among those trapped in Puerto Vallarta was Katy Holloman, who had been on the way to the airport when she was suddenly told to stay at the hotel.
The makeup artist from El Dorado Hills, Calif., said, “We were told to shelter in place right now, we need to stay in the hotel, it was safer here, but it is not safe to travel to the airport.
“The road is closed due to the cartel. There’s no flights going out of the airport to the States. We’ve rescheduled them for tomorrow afternoon, really hoping we make it home.
“Just going to pray we make it home tomorrow. This is unprecedented here, the hotel staff have been saying this has never happened before.”
She added: “So we’re just going to try to make the most of it. I guess it’s time to unpack our suitcases and get swimsuits on again.”
Daniel Smith, from near Palm Springs, Calif., shared terrifying footage of the chaos. He appeared to be running down a staircase as alarms went off and a Mexican woman ordered him outside.
He said in a video clip: “We’re evacuating the building, propane tanks have exploded. Hoping the building doesn’t catch on fire.”
His brother Richard posted more footage from Daniel showing a bus in flames and other blazing vehicles blocking the streets of Puerto Vallarta.
He said: “Please keep good thoughts for my brother Daniel. Puerto Vallarta is under siege. He is stuck downtown and all roads in and out are closed off. He can’t get home.
“Luckily there are some friends downtown where he can hang out. Although it’s been evacuated once already. The drug cartel is pissed off.”
James Stephens from San Diego was also stuck. He posted horrifying footage of a Costco store ablaze and revealed that the entire city had been shut down.
He said: “Stuck in Puerto Vallarta as the cartel is attempting to take over the city. Entire city shut down. Can’t get out. Crazy right? We’re safe.”
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CJNG Cartel Unleashes Chaos at Guadalajara Airport and in Puerto Vallarta After Leader ‘El Mencho’ Killed in Military Raid – Reports of American Tourists Taken Hostage
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) stormed Guadalajara International Airport on Sunday in apparent retaliation for the death of their notorious leader, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.
The attack has led to widespread panic, with videos showing passengers and airport staff fleeing for cover amid reports of gunfire and armed confrontations.
The violence comes just hours after Mexican authorities confirmed El Mencho’s elimination in a targeted operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, reportedly conducted with U.S. intelligence assistance.
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Narco-blockades lifted in Mexico after cartel reaction to death of ‘El Mencho’
Mexican Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch has assured that all narco-blockades in the country that erupted Sunday have been lifted, following the military operation that killed Nemesio Oseguera, “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The cartel responded furiously to the fall of its principal leader, as is always the case when a major drug lord is brought down, with attacks on gas stations and banks, in addition to the roadblocks. In total, there were 252 obstructions, 85 of them in Jalisco alone, most of which were cleared yesterday afternoon. Order was fully restored on Monday morning, according to Harfuch, who pointed out that the states most affected were Jalisco, where the operation against El Mencho took place, as well as Baja California, the State of Mexico, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Veracruz, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas. Claudia Sheinbaum’s cabinet chief also announced the arrest of 70 criminals across seven states.
Throughout Sunday’s operation, there were 27 attacks against the authorities in Jalisco, which Harfuch described as “cowardly.” In six of these attacks, 25 members of the National Guard, a security guard, and another member of the Attorney General’s Office lost their lives, as well as one woman, the only civilian death reported so far. On the organized crime side, 30 people were killed. In Michoacán, there were 13 clashes that left four criminals dead and 15 military personnel wounded, García Harfuch added.
“We call on the population to remain calm, to trust their institutions, and to rest assured that the Mexican government is working with all its capabilities to restore peace and protect the population,“ said the security czar at the end of the presentation, in which he highlighted the weakening of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization, responsible for crimes including ”homicides, human trafficking, extortion, kidnappings, and armed attacks against the authorities.” Misinformation added its own dose of confusion to a day of extreme tension due to the traffic chaos unleashed by the cartel after the death of El Mencho, the same defiant response unleashed by the Sinaloa Cartel after two attempts to capture Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s son, Ovidio Guzmán, alias “El Ratón,” the first of which was unsuccessful and became known as the Culiacanazo.
The operation against El Mencho is the biggest blow against drug trafficking to date by the Sheinbaum administration, which has distanced itself from its predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and his controversial “hugs, not bullets” policy to make major arrests and historic drug seizures one of the hallmarks of its six-year term. U.S. intelligence collaborated closely in the operation, with communication between the two countries strengthened since Sheinbaum’s arrival at the National Palace, aided by pressure from Washington on Mexico to achieve results in this area. However, there was no U.S. military involvement in the operation, as Sheinbaum has emphasized, the Mexican president obliged occasionally to dispel the specter of foreign military interference in the country.
Nemesio Oseguera was Mexico’s most-wanted criminal and had been targeted by the state since the 1990s, when he began his career in drug trafficking within the Milenio Cartel, also known as Los Valencia. The CJNG was consolidated in 2010, and in 2012, the drug lord took control of the organization, whose tentacles extend to almost 40 countries. Four years later, in 2016, El Mencho was added to the list of the United States’ most wanted fugitives. Two years ago, Washington offered a reward of $15 million for any information that could lead to the elusive criminal, who had two active arrest warrants for charges related to organized crime. In Mexico, the Attorney General’s Office had been offering a reward of 30 million pesos, just under $2 million, for several years.
The fall of one of the last great Mexican drug lords comes after a period of intense communication between the administrations of Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum on this issue. Mexico has made several extraordinary deliveries of drug traffickers to its northern neighbor to be tried and convicted in the U.S., where maintaining control of their organizations from behind bars becomes virtually impossible, unlike in Mexican prisons. The haul sent consists of more than 90 cartel members, who will face U.S. justice in exchange for not receiving the death penalty, a punishment that does not exist in Mexico and is avoided in these cases in the United States thanks to an agreement reached between the authorities of both countries.
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Mexico Confirms 25 National Guardsmen Killed in Cartel’s Terror Response to El Mencho’s Death
The Government of Mexico confirmed that 25 Mexican National Guardsmen, one prison guard, and an innocent woman died in a series of terror-style attacks that were a direct response to the killing of Ruben Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the terrorist organization Cartel Jalisco New Generation.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the much-feared terrorist leader died on Sunday after a high-stakes raid by special forces soldiers from Mexico’s Army. In that raid, cartel gunmen deployed Russian RPGs and used high-powered weapons in an attempt to prevent the capture of their leader. The leader and two others, including his son-in-law, died while being airlifted to a local hospital after being wounded in the confrontation.
Soon after the operation, CJNG forces began carrying out terror-style attacks in at least 18 states throughout Mexico. The attacks included shootings, carjackings, setting up blockades, and setting buildings and convenience stores on fire. Mexican authorities confirmed that, in addition to the 25 National Guardsmen dying in those attacks, 40 cartel gunmen died, as well as a prison guard and an innocent woman. Authorities also made 70 arrests during the day.
By Monday morning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that her forces had cleared all blockades and that life could return to normal.
In that same news conference, Mexico’s Secretary of Defense General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo spoke about the operation where Mexican soldiers fought El Mencho’s forces. During the news conference, Trevilla Trejo appeared to choke back tears when he talked about the 25 National Guardsmen who died in the attack. Breitbart Texas has previously reported on a close friendship between Trevilla Trejo and El Mencho, who met when the military official served as a regional head of the Mexican Army in Michoacan.
Also during the news conference, Mexico’s top security official Omar Garcia Harfuch revealed that the operation against El Mencho was based on intelligence that included tracking down the cartel boss’s mistress in an attempt to locate him.
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