A manhunt is underway in western Mexico after at least 23 inmates escaped during a riot at a prison in Puerto Vallarta following the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The jailbreak unfolded early Sunday at the Centro Integral de Justicia Regional when a group of armed men rammed a vehicle through the prison gate and opened fire.
The attack sparked tumult inside the facility and allowed inmates to flee as prison personnel were addressing the armed men. Response from reinforcements was delayed due to road conditions outside the prison.
A prison guard was killed during the assault, and reinforced security has since restored order to the facility as law enforcement tracks the fugitives.
The chaos followed violent reprisals nationwide after Mexican forces killed El Mencho during a military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco state. The Mexican Embassy credited U.S. intelligence in the operation.
U.S. citizens in Mexico were ordered to shelter in place following the operation, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump’s administration is “unaware of any reports of any Americans being hurt, kidnapped, or killed, and the Mexican drug cartels know not to lay a finger on a single American, or they will pay severe consequences under this president.”
Oseguera faced federal charges in the United States for drug trafficking offenses related to his criminal network. He was wanted alive by the U.S. for $15 million, with the State Department offering the reward for information leading to his arrest.
Trump had named CJNG, along with seven other Latin American cartels and criminal organizations, as foreign terrorist organizations last February and has waged war on drug cartels in his second term, but mostly in South America.
The prison break is just one response to El Mencho’s killing, as the JNGC cartel members also set cars on fire, and 25 National Guard members were reported killed.
EL MENCHO AND TRUMP’S OPPORTUNITY IN MEXICO
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum hailed the removal of the cartel leader as a historic victory, but acknowledged that the retaliatory violence has posed serious security challenges.
Mexican officials continue to deploy thousands of soldiers and National Guard troops to quell unrest and assist in tracking escapees from the Puerto Vallarta jail.
