Supporters of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" have staged violent protests and vandalism in Mexico after his death in a military operation. The 59-year-old was killed in a special military operation on Monday.

Mexican Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday that 74 people, including 25 National Guardsmen, were killed in the operation against Mencho and the violent protests that followed. The government has deployed troops in 20 of its 32 states to control the situation. El Mencho was killed in an operation in Tapalpa, near the city of Guadalajara in the western state of Jalisco, on Sunday. The area is considered a base for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the gang led by El Mencho. Schools were closed in Guadalajara and several other Mexican cities on Monday following the unrest. Public transport was also severely limited. The few buses were almost empty as people were afraid to leave their homes. Suspected members of the CJNG burned cars in several states on Monday. They also attacked banks, gas stations and shops. “Many businesses are closed,” he said. "The CJNG brought trucks onto the road to obstruct Mexican security forces and create chaos, and the police moved them out of the way," Al Jazeera's John Holman, reporting from Mexico City, said. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed on Monday that peace had returned to the country. "Mexico is calm. We woke up without any disruption, and all activities have been restored," she said. The White House confirmed that US intelligence agencies were providing assistance in the operation to capture the cartel leader. The US had announced a $15 million reward for information on El Mencho. It praised the Mexican military for its success. However, President Sheinbaum insisted that only the Mexican military was involved in the operation. "There was no US military involvement in the operation. "We have a lot of information exchange with the US government, but the entire operation, from the planning stage onwards, is the responsibility of the Mexican federal army," the president said. In 2009, after a dispute between members of the Milenio cartel, its members split into La Resistencia and CJNG. Led by El Mencho, the CJNG defeated La Resistencia and asserted its dominance over all of Milenio's trafficking networks.

By 2021, the organization had become one of the largest criminal gangs in the world. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the organization has spread its network to 40 countries. The DEA stated that the network is active in almost all states in the US and 21 out of 32 in Mexico. It has been using its large financial resources, separate command systems and relationships with corrupt officials in the drug trade.

The group's network has spread to various crimes, including arms trafficking, human trafficking, oil theft, cybercrime, and money laundering. However, The group has been profiting the most from drug trafficking (cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine). Most of the fentanyl in the United States comes through Mexico. The DEA believes that the CJNG is the most active in its trafficking.