Mexico Just Killed Its Most Wanted Drug Lord, here is What Happens Next

Sunday, February 22, 2026 is a date that thousands of travelers will not forget in a hurry. In the early hours of that morning, the Mexican military killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as "El Mencho," the founder and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, during a raid in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco. 

Mexico Just Killed Its Most Wanted Drug Lord, here is What Happens Next

The US had offered a $15 million bounty for information on his whereabouts. He never made it out alive.

What followed was chaos on a scale Mexico had not seen in years. Cartel loyalists responded within hours by torching buses, blocking highways, and attacking airports and shopping malls across more than 20 Mexican states. 

Guadalajara went into lockdown. Tourists in Puerto Vallarta watched smoke rise above the city skyline from their hotel balconies. Travelers at Guadalajara's airport were caught on video running for cover inside the terminal.

The US State Department immediately issued a travel advisory urging American citizens to shelter in place across Jalisco, Tamaulipas, and Michoacán. Canada issued parallel guidance for its citizens in the same states. 

Airlines, including Southwest, Delta, American, Alaska, Air Canada, and WestJet, cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded with no clear timeline for when operations would resume.

The question every traveler is now asking is simple: is Mexico safe to visit right now?

The answer is not straightforward. Cancún and Los Cabos remain largely unaffected. Mexico City is operating normally. 

But Jalisco and the surrounding states are a different story, and anyone with a trip planned to that region in the coming weeks needs to stay close to official advisories before making any decisions.

We have put together a full breakdown of everything travelers from the US, Canada, and Germany need to know right now, including which flights are cancelled, which states are affected, and what your options are if your trip is already booked.

You can read the full Mexico travel alert guide here: Mexico Travel Alert 2026: Is Mexico Safe to Visit RightNow?