US military-led task force helps take down one of Mexico's most dangerous drug lords: Live updates

People on social media have reported being stranded in Puerto Vallarta, where thick columns of smoke can be seen rising above the city. At least ten vehicles throughout the city were reported as having been set on fire.

One user on Facebook wrote: 'My daughter is there now at an Airbnb, I just talked with her and the whole town is on lockdown, she is safe as we speak but it's a very scary situation.'

Another user wrote: 'We are at Villa del Palmar in Puerto Vallarta and black smoke all around, no buses or taxis, flights cancelled, stores closed, not going anywhere. Was going to sit at beach but smoke smell was terrible and was told it could be toxic.'

Other people on Reddit said they were about to hop on a flight to the Pacific coastal city just before they heard the news.

'I was AT THE AIRPORT TERMINAL waiting to go there when we heard this was happening,' said a user on Reddit. '[I'm] In the car going back home. All flights to PV (Puerto Vallarta) grounded indefinitely,' the user wrote in a follow-up comment.

Tennis chiefs are facing calls to rescue players from Mexico after violence erupted in the country following the death of a notorious drug lord.

Chaos has engulfed Mexico in the week both the ATP and WTA are hosting tournaments in the country.

A number of top players - including world No 4 Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, America's Frances Tiafoe and Britain's Cameron Norrie - are slated to play the ATP 500 event in Acapulco.

America's Emma Navarro and Ann Li, meanwhile, are among the top seeds at the WTA's Merida Open and tennis announcer Brett Haber has urged both tours to pull players out of the country.

Tennis chiefs urged to rescue tennis stars in Mexico

Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, who was Mexico's most wanted man and the leader of the feared Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel, was killed during a security operation to arrest him.

Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as 'El Mencho,' infamous for the bloody trail of bodies he left behind in battles with government forces and rival gangs, died in a military raid on Sunday.

An ex-police officer, Oseguera, 60, was the shadowy leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), an international criminal enterprise widely viewed as one of Mexico's most powerful.

Over a relatively short period of time, Oseguera masterminded the CJNG's emergence as a criminal empire rivaling his former allies in the Sinaloa Cartel. He managed to evade arrest for years despite a $15 million bounty from the US for information leading to his arrest or capture.

CJNG has been blamed for smuggling vast quantities of drugs into the U.S., including the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which has been linked to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths in recent years.

"Apart from the heads of the Sinaloa cartel, 'El Mencho' has been the biggest prize for many, many years," said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a security expert and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"And it’s really stunning, just like the heads of the Sinaloa cartel, how long he managed to evade US and Mexican law enforcement gunning for him.”

Donald Trump has demanded Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of the often-deadly drug fentanyl, threatening to impose more tariffs or take unilateral military action if the country does not show results.

There were early signs that Mexico’s efforts were well received by the United States.

US Ambassador Ron Johnson recognized the success of the Mexican armed forces and their sacrifice in a statement late Sunday. He added that “under the leadership of President Trump and President Sheinbaum, bilateral cooperation has reached unprecedented levels.”

But it may also pave the way for more violence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to the CJNG, Mora said.

“This might be a moment in which those other groups see that the cartel is weakened and want to seize the opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said.

“Ever since President Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” Mora said. “This is signaling to the US that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don’t need US troops on Mexican soil.”

Mexican forces seized rocket launchers as they conducted a deadly raid on a major cartel leader, based on US intelligence, that set off a wave of violence across a tourist hotspot.

Former Drug Enforcement Agency officials said the group commanded large numbers of gunmen and organized itself in a way that allowed it to deploy force quickly and visibly.

It would use coordinated roadblocks, armed convoys and structured enforcement wings to assert control in urban areas, as they expanded their reach and arsenals.

Those arsenals have apparently become so large that they included rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircrafts, as well as armored vehicles and heavy weapons that are more commonly associated with militaries, all of which were seized in the raid on Sunday.

Rocket launchers seized in raid on cartel boss as violence explodes

Mexican forces seized a rocket launcher as they conducted a deadly raid on a major cartel leader, based on US intelligence, that set off a wave of violence across a tourist hotspot.

A new US-military-led task force specializing in intelligence collection on drug cartels played a role in the Mexican military raid on Sunday that killed the Mexican drug lord known as 'El Mencho,' a US defense official said.

The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel, which ‌involves multiple US government agencies, was formally launched last month with the goal of mapping out networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the US-Mexico ‌border, US officials said.

The US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details on any information that the US-military-led task force may have offered Mexican authorities. The official stressed the raid itself ​was a Mexican military operation.

A former US official, speaking on condition of anonymity without referring specifically to the task force, said the US compiled a detailed target package for El Mencho and provided it to the Mexican government for its operation.

This detailed dossier included information provided by US law enforcement, US intelligence, the former official said.

The former official added El Mencho was very high, if not at the top, of a list of US targets in Mexico.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Sunday night that US intelligence provided Mexican forces with intelligence 'support' to carry out the raid on El Mencho.

'President Trump has been very clear — the United States will ensure narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to our homeland are forced to face the wrath of justice they have long deserved,' she wrote on X.

She added that the Trump administration 'commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation.'

American tourists visiting Puerto Vallarta have started to complain online about being stuck at luxury resorts as cartel violence ripped through the area. 

Terrifying photos and videos from Mexico showed tourists and airport personnel alike running as armed cartel members took over the airport.

Armed thugs on motorcycles and the sounds of their gunfire have also been reported by residents of Puerto Vallarta. Videos of Mexican forces exchanging fire with cartel members have started popping up on X and Instagram.

Tourists complain about being stuck at luxury resorts in Mexico

American tourists visiting the Puerto Vallarta have started to complain online about being stuck at luxury resorts as cartel violence ripped through the area.

La Jornada, one of Mexico City's largest newspapers, has reported that a total of 26 people were killed in the chaos on Sunday.

Most of the fatalities occurred within federal and state security forces, which saw 17 agents killed on Sunday.

Eight alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel were also reportedly killed.

Air Canada has confirmed it will be canceling all of its flights to and from Puerto Vallarta scheduled for Monday.

'We are monitoring the situation and are working to bring our customers back as soon as it is safe to do so,' it announced on X.

'We will share more information as soon as possible.'

Twenty-five people have been arrested in the chaos in Jalisco, state officials announced.

Eleven were arrested for alleged participation in violent acts and 14 others were arrested for alleged acts of looting or pillaging.

State officials added that public transportation systems are now gradually being reactivated.

US Senator Gary Peters urged tourists from his state to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which allows the State Department to contact Americans in case of an emergency.