Headlines for February 23, 2026

Mexican security forces killed the country’s most wanted drug lord, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, on Sunday in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state. The U.S. had provided intelligence to Mexican authorities for the operation. The U.S. had placed a $15 million bounty on “El Mencho”, who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is a designated terrorist organization in the United States. Following his death, violence erupted in multiple cities across Mexico. In Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital, gunfire was reported and armed men reportedly set a gas station alight. Vehicles were set on fire near beachfront hotels in the resort town of Puerto Vallarta. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico urged Americans to “shelter in place” in multiple states across the country. Tourists were left stranded in Puerto Vallarta, as Air Canada, Delta, American Airlines and Alaskan Airlines all announced they were canceling flights to and from the town’s airport due to the ongoing “security situation.”