DEVELOPING: CJNG members continued burning vehicles at the entrance to San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco (21.26562, -102.31267), and set another vehicle ablaze at the intersection of Lázaro Cárdenas Avenue and RĂo Seco Street in San Pedro, Tlaquepaque, between 8:15 PM and 8:45 PM UTC on February 22, 2026, as retaliation for the death of leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, according to El_Universal_Mx and GNocturnaMX on X. A Mexican National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter sustained gunshot damage to its fuselage and tires in Jalisco, forcing it to return to base, per visionergeo on X. The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense confirmed El Mencho's death in a Tapalpa operation earlier today, supported by U.S. intelligence, resulting in four CJNG members killed on site, three more including El Mencho during transfer to Mexico City, two arrests, and seizures of weapons and armored vehicles including rocket launchers, as stated in an official press release by @Defensamx1 on X. Additional CJNG-attributed fires targeted trucks and trailers in Veracruz and the aftermath of a suspected attack appeared in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, according to AlertaNews24 and All_Source_News on X. Reports indicated vehicle fires across Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas, and workplace burnings in Guanajuato, per TurkishIndy on X citing indyturk.com. These incidents follow CJNG ambushes, store fires, bank damage, and blockades reported in prior windows today after the Tapalpa operation, with National Guard and Army reinforcements concentrating in Jalisco, as per the @Defensamx1 release.
