Rubén Guerrero Valadez, a close associate of Nemesio Oseguera, alias El Mencho, died this Sunday in the army operation carried out in Tapalpa, Jalisco, as confirmed by EL PAÍS. Guerrero Valadez was the son of Heraclio Guerrero, alias Uncle Lako, identified by authorities as one of the most important operators of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). According to reports, Rubén Guerrero maintained a close relationship with El Mencho and was with him at the time of the federal forces’ intervention.
Uncle Lako, one of El Mencho’s key associates, is also the leader of Los Guerreros, an armed wing of the CJNG that operates in the border region of Jalisco and Michoacán. Local media reported in 2015 that he was arrested by authorities after being identified as one of the masterminds behind the murder of Enrique Hernández, a former self-defense leader who was running for mayor of Yurécuaro, a municipality in Michoacán located on the same border. He was prosecuted but is currently free for unknown reasons.
The operation last Sunday in Tapalpa, a rural municipality about 130 kilometers from Guadalajara, which resulted in the capture of El Mencho, sparked a wave of violence in several states across the country. Jalisco, a key territory for the CJNG’s operations, bore the brunt of it. The government of Claudia Sheinbaum reported on Monday that the six criminal attacks in the state left 25 members of the National Guard, a state Attorney General’s Office agent, a prison guard, and a woman dead. Thirty people linked to organized crime also lost their lives. In Michoacán, the drug lord’s home state, 13 attacks occurred, leaving 15 officers wounded.
The first news of El Mencho’s downfall arrived Sunday morning. The Mexican Army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord in an operation that involved collaboration with U.S. intelligence agencies. The government explained on Monday that they located the criminal thanks to a visit from a woman, with whom he went to one of his cabins in Tapalpa.
The wave of criminal violence has gripped parts of the country since then, leaving at least 72 dead nationwide, around 250 roadblocks in 20 states, vehicles and businesses burned, and classes suspended. Authorities have been trying to ease the tension since Monday. The governor of Jalisco, Pablo Lemus, deactivated the red alert in the state on Tuesday, the epicenter of the violent backlash. This decision marked the first step toward a return to normalcy in the state, which plans to resume in-person classes starting Wednesday. Other states, such as the State of Mexico, have already reopened classrooms.
