CNN, US DEPARTMENT OF STATE, KING, ANNIE GARCIA, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, GETTY IMAGES, JIM BECK, TV AZTECA

By Mitchell McCluskey, Gonzalo Zegarra, Avery Schmitz, Sol Amaya, and Mauricio Torres, CNN

(CNN) — Mexican security forces killed the country’s most-wanted cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes in a high-stakes operation on Sunday that set off a spiral of violence and chaos.

Oseguera was the leader and co-founder of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a criminal group that has rapidly expanded its influence in recent years, becoming one of the main traffickers of methamphetamine and fentanyl into the US.

The attack comes at a pivotal moment for Mexico, as President Claudia Sheinbaum faces increasing pressure from her US counterpart Donald Trump to clamp down on drug trafficking.

It also comes just months before the Mexican city of Guadalajara – which was rocked by violence following the drug lord’s capture – is set to host four group-stage matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

How the attack was executed

After years of pursuing Oseguera, Mexican forces on February 20 received a concrete tip about the feared cartel leader’s whereabouts.

Their investigation into Oseguera’s network had led them to a key person who could help access his hideout – a “trusted man” of one of Oseguera’s lovers, according to Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo.

The following day, the lover left Oseguera’s cabin complex on the outskirts of Tapalpa, but the drug lord remained at the hideout with his security detail.

Mexican special forces operatives and the National Guard’s Special Immediate Reaction Force then swooped into action, putting together a plan and launching a raid within the next 24 hours.

To avoid arousing suspicion, the mission was primarily carried out by ground forces with limited air support from helicopters, Trevilla said.

Several Mexican army units were present in central Tapalpa on Sunday morning, according to CNN’s analysis of social media video.

Sheinbaum said the US shared intelligence that aided the operation but did not provide ground forces.

The Mexican troops established a perimeter around the complex and then closed in. As they did so, they came under fire from Oseguera’s lieutenants.

Using eyewitness video captured during the operation, CNN pinpointed El Mencho’s likely location in a wooded area which shelters several small, gated compounds just over three miles southwest of Tapalpa. The site, a vacation rental known as Cabañas La Loma, is near the Tapalpa Country Club down a long, remote driveway.

Cabañas La Loma was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2015 and again in 2017 for providing “material assistance to the drug trafficking activities of (the Jalisc

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) When a drug lord known as "El Mencho died in the town of Tapalpa, Mexico on Sunday during a mission to capture him, flight delays followed.

Six members of the Santa Barbara Puerto Vallarta Sister Cities committee had just spent a week at the El Grullo Health Spa in Jalisco about an hour away.

The driver hired to take them to the airport for their return flight could not pick them up from their hotel due to burning cars and buses in the road.

"We just came to detox for 7 days and now this happened and now we are blessed that we are safe," said Marti Correa de Garcia.

Her husband Gil Garcia said she had planned the trip.

Garcia, who served on the Santa Barbara City Council decades ago, said they were close to the danger and moved to a second hotel.

"Yesterday was a very violet day with helicopters flying over some of them landed and had a confrontation, said Garcia. 

"There was a ton of military all over the place ,checkpoints in rural towns, checkpoints in more populated areas, didn't really piece it together, but we get to the airport and of course all the highways were shut down, so the crew didn't make it until several hours later so the flight was delayed," said Hamilton.

Hamilton made it to Dallas and stayed over before catching another flight home on Monday.

He credits his parents and grandparents for helping his wife care for their children, while he was delayed."

"Stressful 24 hours, I'd say, but yeah, that is kind of it in a nutshell, it was scary to an extent, more uncertain," said Hamilton.

Travel consultant including Susan Do of Montecito Village Travel in Santa Barbara said they keep in touch with their clients.

"So it is really helpful to have a travel agent because we have suppliers who are boots on the ground and we use a destination management company, " said Do "I have a client that actually landed in Mexico City last night and I talked to her today and everything great the tour company down there is taking great care of her." 

Do said insurance is always a good idea, but does'nt cover acts of war.

This is one trip the Sister Cities Committee won't soon forget.

"Hopefuly we will be on our way to Santa Barbara, so hopefully we will see you soon," said Correa de Garcia.

For more travel information visit https://montecitovillagetravel.com

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By Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — After ordering the largest American military buildup in the Middle East since the onset of the Iraq War, President Donald Trump now has a decision to make on Iran.

The options before him now appear relatively well established, confirmed in vague terms by the president himself during informal question-and-answer sessions over the last several weeks and described in more detail by people familiar with the matter. They range widely, with some carrying significant risks, and he’s hearing sometimes conflicting advice from allies, advisers and foreign counterparts.

• Trump could hold off ordering any military action at all, hoping the presence of two aircraft carriers, dozens of warships and hundreds of warplanes off Iran’s coasts might convince its leaders to make a deal.
• He could order a limited strike on military targets to drive home his demands that Iran abandon any ability to build nuclear weapons.
• He could approve an attack intended to topple Iran’s leaders, even if what replaces them remains unknown — the more maximalist approach.

“Everything that has been written about a potential War with Iran has been written incorrectly, and purposefully so,” Trump declared on Truth Social on Monday. “I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people.”

Less clear is what, precisely, Trump is looking to accomplish. It’s also a bit of a mystery why he is considering action right now or what legal authorities he might rely upon to launch the second attack on Iran in the span of eight months.

He’s made little attempt to build a public case for or against a potential war. Behind the scenes, Trump is hearing differing opinions on whether to order new strikes or — given the serious risk of becoming mired in a prolonged conflict — allow diplomatic efforts to continue.

Here are the paths Trump is considering, and how the administration is thinking about each one.

Option 1: Let diplomacy play out

Top White House officials continue to say Trump’s preference is to secure a deal with Iran that avoids any type of military confrontation.

His envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been conducting indirect talks with Iranian officials over the last several weeks and will return to Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday for another round. Both men have encouraged the president to allow time to see whether a deal is possible, though Witkoff said Saturday that Trump is “curious” as to why Iran hasn’t “capitulated” in negotiations.

Each side has drawn red lines — and some directly conflict. Trump says Iran should not be allowed to enrich any uranium. Iran says that is its right, and insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

The Iranians are still working on a proposal that might bridge that gap and expect to share it with mediators from Oman before Thursday’s high-stakes talks, according to a source familiar with the matter.

“This Thursday will decide everything, a war or a deal,” said a regional source familiar with the talks.

Trump launched surprise strikes on Iran’s nuclear program last year ahead of another scheduled round of US-Iran talks, but this time regional sources expect the president’s team will go to the table in Geneva before taking any military action, based on discussions with US officials.

Still, days before the talks, it did not appear the Iranian proposal would include a commitment to zero uranium enrichment, sources said. The demand has long been a non

OXNARD, Calif. (KEYT) – Fire crews rescued a boy from a house fire at the 100 block of Santa Paula Ave. in Oxnard just after 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

The VCFD and Oxnard fire crews helped the boy from the third story of the house and got him down from a ladder on the second story.

Paramedics evaluated the boy on scene and took him to the hospital out of caution for further treatment, according to the VCFD.

Both fire crews combined to knock the flames down just after 6:00 p.m. and no other person was hurt in the incident, according to the VCFD.

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