New US Army-led task force aided Mexico in search for cartel boss

(Patria) - A new US Army-led task force specializing in intelligence gathering on drug cartels played a role in a Mexican military raid on Sunday in which the Mexican drug lord known as “El Mencho” was killed, a US Defense Department official told Reuters.

The joint interagency task force, which includes multiple US government agencies, was quietly launched late last year with the aim of mapping the networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the US-Mexico border, US officials said.

The US official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details on any information the US Army-led task force may have provided to Mexican authorities. The official stressed that the raid itself was a Mexican military operation.

The Mexican Ministry of Defense announced that Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, better known as “El Mencho”, was seriously injured and died during an air transfer to Mexico City. The ministry noted that US authorities had provided “supplementary information”.

The operation triggered a wave of violence, with burning cars and armed men blocking highways in several Mexican states.