Trump claims credit for El Mencho killing as Mexico says no US boots were on the ground

WASHINGTON, United States (MNTV) – President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address Tuesday to claim credit for the killing of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes — better known as “El Mencho” — the feared leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations.

“We’ve also taken down one of the most sinister cartel kingpins. You saw that yesterday,” Trump told a joint session of Congress, stopping short of naming the slain drug lord directly.

Mexico’s Defense Secretariat, however, told a different story.

In a detailed account of how the operation unfolded, the ministry said Mexican forces tracked El Mencho by locating a man close to one of his lovers, eventually confirming the cartel boss was present at a location before moving in.

When forces arrived, cartel operatives opened fire. El Mencho attempted to flee into a nearby wood but was cornered and wounded.

He was airlifted toward Mexico City but died en route.

The ministry acknowledged “bilateral coordination and cooperation” with the U.S., describing American involvement as providing “complementary information.”

The New York Times went further, reporting that the CIA played an instrumental role in locating El Mencho and that Washington had been pressing Mexico to act on shared intelligence.

Mexico was unambiguous on one point: there were no U.S. soldiers on the ground.

El Mencho rose from local criminal networks to lead CJNG’s rapid expansion, building a cartel known for sophisticated trafficking operations, brutal territorial violence, and diversification into a wide range of illicit businesses. His death marks the end of one of the most wanted figures in the Western Hemisphere.