The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of Mexico's two biggest drug gangs, alongside the Sinaloa Cartel. It was led by Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes until his death in February 2026.
CJNG is an amalgam of 92 groups which operate across all 32 states in Mexico. In its early years it worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to fight the Zetas, another gang. CJNG combines the Sinaloa Cartel's ability to corrupt politicians and businesspeople with the Zetas' violence. To spread terror its sicarios have hung bodies from bridges or scattered them, dismembered, into the street.
A diverse portfolio—from drug-trafficking to fuel theft and even timeshare fraud—has made CJNG extremely rich. It has also accrued immense firepower, including mines, drones that carry explosives and rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft. The group also manufactures its own weapons.
In 2020 CJNG carried out a brazen attempt to assassinate Omar García Harfuch, who was the security minister for Mexico City at the time. Gunmen fired more than 400 bullets into his convoy, killing two of his bodyguards; Mr Harfuch survived.
El Mencho's death on February 22nd 2026 at the hands of Mexican special forces risks throwing the country into turmoil. It is not clear whether he had a succession plan. Because CJNG is an amalgam of 92 groups, it is ripe for fragmentation. If not contained, outbreaks of violence risk becoming "an epidemic that can take years to temper," according to Eduardo Guerrero of Lantia, a security consultancy. The army sent 2,500 troops to Jalisco to join the 7,000 already there.
"Summit meetings tend to be like panda matings. The expectations are always high, and the results usually disappointing."