Laura Loomer
MAGA activist Laura Loomer

The Mexican embassy in the United States called out MAGA influencer Laura Loomer for saying that the "US eliminated a top Cartel leader" in the country, in reference to the operation that killed Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the longtime leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

"This post is false," begins the publication, which includes an image of Loomer's message with the words "Fake News" in red across it.

"The military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, aimed at capturing Rubén "N," alias "Mencho," was planned and executed by Mexican Special Forces. The action was carried out within the framework of bilateral cooperation, with U.S. authorities providing complementary intelligence," the message adds.

The country's Defense Secretariat also confirmed that cooperation between the countries amounted to the sharing of information. Talk about U.S. forces potentially being present in the country is connected to tensions about U.S. President Donald Trump's insistence on such a scenario materializing. However, Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum has drawn a red line on the matter.

According to reports from the AP, the operation occurred in the western state of Jalisco and was followed by roadblocks and burning vehicles, a tactic frequently used by cartels to slow security forces. The strike was part of an operation in the mountains of Jalisco and was framed as a major security success for President Claudia Sheinbaum's government.

Oseguera Cervantes rose from local criminal networks into the top tier of Mexico's underworld, becoming the face of CJNG's rapid expansion. The cartel emerged after fractures in earlier organizations, and over time built a reputation for combining sophisticated trafficking with aggressive territorial violence, as well as diversification into other illicit businesses.

According to In Sight Crime, CJNG is not just a cartel. It has been described by U.S. officials and researchers as a network that grew by absorbing or partnering with existing criminal cells in multiple regions, which is one reason "decapitation" events can trigger unpredictable splintering.

CJNG's rivalries have repeatedly overlapped with other major criminal groups, especially the Sinaloa Cartel, and conflicts in key states like Guanajuato, where CJNG has battled the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel amid spikes in violence.

What changes now depend less on symbolism than on succession, cohesion, and whether CJNG's regional commanders stay aligned.

One likely short-term consequence is volatility. Research on cartel fragmentation and Mexico's "kingpin" era has repeatedly found that removing a top leader can produce splintering, contested leadership, and new local wars as factions fight over revenue streams and routes. Analysts who track armed group dynamics have warned that Mexico's criminal landscape is already prone to shifting battle lines, with major groups exploiting rivals' internal fractures and rapidly expanding into gaps.

A second possibility is that CJNG adapts rather than collapses. CJNG has been described as unusually expansionist and organizationally flexible, with a footprint that extends through multiple states and an ability to plug into local cells. That type of network can sometimes survive leadership losses if the financial and logistics architecture remains intact.

A third impact is on the broader rivalry map. If CJNG's internal leadership becomes contested, rivals could attempt to seize territory or trafficking corridors, especially in hotspots where CJNG already faces entrenched enemies. Conversely, if CJNG's next leadership consolidates quickly, the cartel may seek to demonstrate strength through retaliation, roadblocks, and intimidation, tactics already reported around the operation.

Originally published on Latin Times