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On February 22, 2026, Mexican security forces carried out a high-stakes operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. This is the kind of result Americans have been told for years is impossible under weak leadership and hollow policies, and it represents a major tactical victory against a trafficker who terrorized communities on both sides of the border.
Almost immediately the U.S. State Department and U.S. Embassy issued an unprecedented shelter-in-place advisory for American citizens in multiple Mexican states, explicitly naming Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Nuevo León — a stark reminder that violence from cartel reprisals spreads fast and disrupts ordinary life. The warning to U.S. travelers and the instruction for consular staff to shelter in place underscores the dangerous reality for tourists and residents when lawlessness takes hold.
The cartel’s violent backlash was predictable: videos and reports showed burning vehicles, highway blockades, shootouts, and chaos at airports in places like Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, forcing airlines to cancel or suspend flights and leaving families stranded. This isn’t isolated criminality; it’s an orchestrated campaign to intimidate the state and paralyze travel and commerce, and Americans watching their vacations and business trips upend should be furious about the policymakers who allowed this threat to fester.
U.S. officials confirmed that American intelligence assisted Mexican forces, and El Mencho had long been one of the most wanted drug traffickers, with a multimillion-dollar reward and ties to massive fentanyl and narcotics shipments into the United States. This operation proves that when Washington and willing partners act decisively and share real intelligence, dangerous criminals can be removed — but it also exposes the cost of years of permissive border policies that let cartels profit and grow their reach.
Now is not the time for complacency or smug platitudes from politicians who placate radicals and lecture law-abiding citizens instead of securing our border and backing law enforcement. Patriots know that victory against cartels must be followed by ironclad policy: bolster border enforcement, cut off trafficking routes, expand lawful cooperation with competent Mexican authorities, and deny these criminal enterprises the financial lifelines they exploit. Opinion and virtue signaling won’t protect Americans or travelers; robust action will.
Every American with family, business, or travel plans in Mexico should heed the shelter-in-place advisories and exercise caution, and Congress should stop treating border security as a partisan punching bag. Celebrate the takedown of a monster, but demand the systemic changes necessary to ensure the next generation of hardworking Americans don’t have to live under the threat of cartel violence.
