The Central Intelligence Agency provided Mexico with intelligence on the location of the drug lord known as "El Mencho," which led to his killing Sunday, a U.S. official told The New York Times.
The drug lord, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was the Mexican government's biggest prize yet as it sought to demonstrate to President Donald Trump's administration its commitment to cracking down on the cartels. His death was met with a forceful reaction from the cartel, known by its initials CJNG.
Mexican authorities said Monday that Oseguera Cervantes, the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was tracked through one of his romantic partners. Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Mexico's secretary of defense, said an elite intelligence wing of the Mexican army helped locate him.
Trevilla also acknowledged that Mexican authorities used "complementary information" from U.S. agencies to track Oseguera Cervantes, the Times reported.
One source told the Times the CIA was "instrumental in removing" him after the United States stepped up intelligence sharing and pressured Mexico to act on the information provided.
Under former President Joe Biden, the CIA began covert drone flights over Mexico to hunt for fentanyl production labs and cartel leaders, the Times reported.
The flights have been expanded under the Trump administration, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe pressing agents to recruit more informants.
A Mexican official told the Times the cooperation showed that the government was able to act quickly and effectively on information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies, at a time when U.S. officials have been pushing for the two countries to conduct joint raids against labs or cartel leaders.
The raid comes a month after U.S. Northern Command established a task force designed to counter drug cartels.
The task force includes 300 military and civilian personnel, including representatives from U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement, the Times reported.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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