What drugs did El Mencho's Cartel de Jalicso Nueva Generación deal in? Fentanyl, Heroine, and…

The Mexican Army on Sunday said it had killed its country’s most powerful cartel leader and one of the United States’ most wanted fugitives — Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes aka El Mencho. The drug lord was on the radar of the United States for years, with the authorities announcing a $15 million award for information on him.

According to the US Department of State, El Mencho's drug cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG, was accused to have trafficked a number of drugs into the United States, including cocaine and fentanyl.

Here is everything you need to know about the drugs El Mencho's CJNG dealt in.

The cartel has been accused of possessing cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, and has for the past few years smuggled fentanyl to the US.

“It has been assessed to have the highest cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking capacity in Mexico, and over the past few years, includes the trafficking of fentanyl into the United States,” as per the US Department of State.

“Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of a controlled substance (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for purposes of unlawful importation into the United States and use of a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking crimes,” the US State Department's website shows.

Oseguera Cervantes was also charged under the Drug Kingpin Statute for operating a continuing criminal enterprise, as per the Trump administration.

The Trump administration also designated his cartel and others foreign terrorist organisations a year ago.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jalisco cartel that was controlled by Mexico is active in almost the entire country of the United States. It has presence in 21 out of the 32 states in Mexico.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Sunday that the US had provided Mexico with intelligence on El Mencho, following which an operation against the cartel was launched and its kingpin was killed.

The killing of El Mencho during an attempt to capture him in Jalisco state was the highest-profile blow against cartels since the recapture of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán a decade ago.

Following Oseguera Cervantes' death, suspected members of his cartel unleashed violence across Mexico. Cars burned out by cartel members blocked roads in 20 Mexican states and left smoke billowing into the air. People locked themselves in their homes in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city and Jalisco's capital, flights were cancelled, and schools were shut on Monday in several states as security forces were placed on alert all over the country.