Schools close and flights suspended after military raid kills Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes
Whole areas of western Mexico have been all but shut down after a surge in cartel violence sparked by a military raid that killed one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, known as “El Mencho”.
Schools were closed in several Mexican states, and foreign governments warned their citizens to stay inside after the drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was declared dead on Sunday.
The 59-year-old cartel leader was killed during a shootout after the Mexican military attempted to capture him in a raid supported by intelligence from Washington. The US has been pushing its southern neighbour to take more aggressive action against groups trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
What inevitably happens when you kill a drug boss. Like it or not drug king pins reduce violence and taking them out just leads to their underlings fighting it out for a while until a new one consolidates their rule and you’re back to square one.
Cops and governments love to target them though so they can say they bagged the next pablo Escobar while they ignore the main problem of why people are killing people over drugs: prohibition and poverty.