After El Mencho: 6 Takeaways About What Happens Next

The most dangerous kingpin in the Americas is dead. Who can maintain order in the ruthless CJNG? Will any more such raids follow? What happens to the World Cup? World of Crime explains it all.

The CJNG is unlike any other cartel. Its use of violence is unprecedented. It normalised what were once the most abject horrors of Mexico’s drug wars like bodies hanging from bridges and severed heads left beside the road.

This is largely due to the way Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” killed yesterday in a raid in Jalisco viewed his group.

From 2011 to 2026, he ruled the CJNG with an iron grip. He built a cult of personality, exemplified by the war cry spoken in every video, written on every banner, “Somos la pura gente del Sr. Mencho.”

Now he is dead, can the CJNG stay united? Can any of his lieutenants claim the throne single-handed, or are we heading for a cartel civil war that may lead to horrendous violence?

Will the CJNG’s local rivals take advantage of its “weakness” and try to nibble off drug trafficking routes, illegal mining, fuel theft, extortion, and more?

Have the US and Mexico given any thought to what happens next?

Here, World of Crime answers six essential questions about El Mencho’s death and what happens next for the CJNG and for Mexico.