Senior US officials celebrated El Mencho’s killing, which follows months of pressure from Donald Trump over the influx of drugs and migrants across the 1,954-mile (3,145km) border between the two countries. The US president has even threatened military action against cartels that he has claimed “are running Mexico”. Writing on X, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, called El Mencho “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins”. He posted: “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.”
An aerial photograph shows plumes of smoke rising over Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, as part of the gang response to the killing of El Mencho. Photograph: EPA
