Mexican journalist Luis Cárdenas, listed as a journalist at MVS Noticias and a contributor to El Universal and El Heraldo de México, spoke with security analyst Oscar Balmen about the Mexican Army Special Forces' decapitation strike against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) by killing Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes.

Balmen explained to Cárdenas that CJNG "is designed to survive without El Mencho."

Cárdenas listed key takeaways from his discussion:

The fall of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes does not mean the end of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel: it is a transnational criminal structure with a franchise model and regional autonomy.

The more than 250 blockades after the operation were not aimed at rescuing him, but were a "criminal résumé": plaza bosses flexing muscle to dispute the leadership.

The risk is not immediate, warns Balmen: the rearrangement can take weeks or months to explode, as happened after the capture of Ismael Zambada García; an internal struggle is coming that could fragment or pulverize the cartel.

Earlier, Mexico's Secretary of Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, revealed new details at a press conference about the Mexican Army Special Forces raid to capture El Mencho. He said, "El Mencho was captured in a cabin area near his hideout." However, El Mencho later died in a firefight with the military.

Trevilla offered condolences to the families of military members who lost their lives in the mission to decapitate CJNG.

He acknowledged that the operation against El Mencho can be viewed from "different perspectives," but he said the Mexican Army has completed its mission.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also spoke at the press conference, praising the military for the arrest of El Mencho.

"The government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum knew that the 'elimination' of El Mencho would trigger a massive terrorist reaction," research analyst Miguel Alfonso Meza of Defensorxs wrote on X.

Meza continued:

One day after the assassination of El Mencho, the repercussions are:

Collective trauma in the population and hundreds of deadly and economic victims.

A predictable internal dispute within the CJNG and the prolonged bleeding it will cause.

The elimination of El Mencho as a potential witness to point out all the politicians and businessmen who protected him, as well as a source of information to dismantle his cartel.

The establishment of a de facto (military) state of exception in several regions of the country.

The international perception that Mexico is at war and incapable of guaranteeing security against the cartels, just over 3 months before the World Cup.

And fuel for Trump's interventionist discourse (even though the operation was joint, Mexico will pay the political cost).