The security team of Ruben Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho" and longtime leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, was not on high alert the day he was captured because the drug lord had hosted a party the night before, according to a new report.
The LA Times also noted that the drug lord wasn't able to be constantly on the move and avoid law enforcement because he had a late-stage kidney disease. This meant that he needed dialysis on a daily basis, preventing him from having the same kind of movement as other high-profile fugitives.
These factors, along with the recent arrest of a public official suspected of having ties with the Jalisco Cartel, helped shape the operation. The official provided leads that helped intelligence officials determine the drug lord's potential location.
General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo explained that Mexican forces effectively managed to locate El Mencho after tracking down a lover of his. He said that military intelligence managed to locate a man close to one of El Mencho's lovers, allowing them to determine his location. Once the person left the premise, officers confirmed that El Mencho stayed there. Forces then moved on to detain him, engaging in a shootout with cartel operatives there.
More than a dozen special forces operatives were dropped by helicopter near the compound. El Mencho had hosted a party the night before and his security detail was not on high alert, the LA Times added.
Overall, the operation involved six planes, including some warplanes able to carry missiles. One of the helicopters involved in the mission had to make an emergency landing after being targeted by operatives.
El Mencho tried to escape while leaving a group of operatives behind to slow down government forces. He made it to a nearby wood, but forces pinned him down and wounded him. El Mencho was taken to a helicopter heading to Mexico City, but he died on the way.
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