Family Of El Mencho Put a Request For His Body To The Mexican Government, Prosecutor Says

The family of Ruben Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho" and longtime leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, put a request to retrieve his body after his killing by Mexican forces on Sunday.

Bureaucracy regarding the request is ongoing, authorities said, noting that all steps must be fulfilled before any delivery can take place.

Infobae noted that the only relatives who can request to retrieve a body are a spouse, children or siblings. They must prove that they are related to the person with official documentation either by themselves or through a legal representative. They have chosen to do so through a lawyer.

General Ricardo Trevilla Trejo explained that Mexican forces 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.

Trevilla Trejo noted that that 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.

Authorities found a handwritten version of Psalm 91 in the luxury cabin in which he was localted. The text included the line: "Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, you will be out of danger."

Authorities discovered the note alongside religious candles and images of the Virgin of Guadalupe, San Judas Tadeo, San Charbel, the Holy Family and San Martín Caballero, according to El Sol de Mexico.

Analyst Óscar Moha told the outlet that figures involved in organized crime often adopt "a kind of syncretism," combining symbols and prayers as protective amulets rather than as expressions of doctrinal faith.