A new US “anti-cartel” operational unit participated in the operation against El Mencho, authorities from that country reveal
A new U.S. military-led operational unit specializing in gathering intelligence on drug cartels played a role in Sunday’s Mexican military raid that killed Mexican kingpin Nemesio Osegueras, alias El Menchoas announced to the agency Reuters a US defense official.
The Joint Interagency Anti-Cartel Task Force, which involves several Washington agencies, was formally launched last month with the goal of dismantling the networks of organized crime members on both sides of the border between the United States and Mexico, indicates the same source.
The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details about what information the U.S. military-led task force may have provided to Mexican authorities. However, he did emphasize that the raid itself was a Mexican military operation.
A former U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and did not specifically refer to the task force, said the U.S. compiled a detailed package of information on El Mencho and provided it to the Mexican government for its operation. This detailed file included information provided by US law enforcement and intelligence, the aforementioned source said.
Mexican authorities shot down El Mencho during an operation designed to capture him in Jalisco. The operation triggered a wave of violence, with cars set on fire and armed men blocking roads in more than half a dozen states.
