Drug busts, arrests and the ‘definite’ decline of the Jalisco cartel: Friday’s mañanera recapped

President Claudia Sheinbaum held her Friday greeting property league successful Zapopan, a municipality successful Jalisco that is portion of the metropolitan country of authorities superior Guadalajara.

Early successful the mañanera, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus welcomed the president to the state, earlier declaring that her beingness was precise “significant” and showed “great solidarity” with “our state,” wherever convulsive cartel chaos broke retired 12 days agone successful effect to a subject cognition targeting Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the now-deceased Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader.

Sheinbaum said that her authorities is moving to execute bid and information successful Jalisco, arsenic good arsenic “the well-being of the residents of this beauteous state.”

Later successful the property conference, information officials presented the latest information connected homicides and arrests successful Jalisco, and outlined Plan Kukulkán, the government’s World Cup information strategy.

Jalisco homicide data 

National Public Security System (SNSP) main Marcela Figueroa reported that determination was an mean of 2.55 homicides per time successful Jalisco successful January.

She highlighted that the regular execution complaint successful January represents a simplification of 47% compared to September 2024, the last period of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency.

✅ Reducción del 47% en homicidios dolosos en Jalisco gracias al trabajo coordinado entre el @GobiernoMX y el estado.

Enero de 2026 registra el nivel más bajo desde 2015. pic.twitter.com/tNCbNMaOaL

— Coordinación Nacional de Protección Civil (@CNPC_MX) March 6, 2026

However, according to the information Figueroa presented, the regular homicide complaint successful Jalisco successful January was 47% higher than successful September 2025, the period with the lowest fig of murders since Sheinbaum took bureau successful October 2024.

The SNSP main besides presented information that showed that Jalisco’s regular homicide complaint was 4 successful 2025, a simplification of 19.5% compared to 2024.

Among Mexico’s 32 national entities, Jalisco recorded the eighth highest fig of homicides successful 2025, according to information presented by Figueroa successful January.

Arrests and cause seizures successful Jalisco 

Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch reported that betwixt Oct. 1, 2024 — the day Sheinbaum took bureau — and Feb. 28, 2026, authorities arrested 890 radical successful Jalisco for allegedly committing high-impact crimes specified arsenic murder, kidnapping and extortion.

He said that authorities seized 626 firearms and implicit 10 tonnes of drugs successful Jalisco successful the aforesaid period. García Harfuch besides said that the Army and Navy dismantled 3 synthetic cause laboratories successful the authorities during the past 17 months.

“These actions person had a important interaction connected the cognition and fiscal capableness of the transgression organizations that run successful the entity,” helium said.

The astir almighty of those groups is undoubtedly the CJNG. It remains to beryllium seen whether the decease of the cartel’s laminitis and longtime person volition effect successful an summation successful unit successful Jalisco arsenic El Mencho’s erstwhile underlings vie to win him.

Plan Kukulkán

Two days aft Mexican officials met with FIFA representatives to sermon information arrangements for the men’s World Cup successful Mexico, García Harfuch announced that Mexico’s information strategy for the lawsuit is called Plan Kukulkán, named aft the serpent deity of Maya mythology.

He said that the program is designed to “guarantee conditions of extortion before, during and after” the World Cup, which Mexico is co-hosting with the United States and Canada. A full of 13 matches volition beryllium played successful Mexico astatine stadiums successful Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

García Harfuch said that the information program is “coordinated by the authorities of Mexico,” and volition impact the information of 20 national departments arsenic good arsenic authorities and municipal authorities.

Román Villalvazo Barrios, main of Mexico’s World Cup Coordination Center, outlined the forces that volition beryllium progressive successful information for the upcoming competition. (Gabriel Monroy / Presidencia)

“It includes planetary practice mechanisms with the United States, Canada, and FIFA to fortify accusation sharing, operational planning, and the timely absorption of risks,” helium added.

Later successful the property conference, Román Villalvazo Barrios — the caput of Mexico’s World Cup Coordination Center — said that “joint task forces” volition beryllium created to negociate information successful each of the 3 big cities.

Villalvazo besides said that astir 20,000 members of the equipped forces and the National Guard, and immoderate 55,000 constabulary officers volition lend to the implementation of Plan Kukulkán. Around 20,000 backstage information guards volition besides enactment successful the execution of the plan, helium said.

All told, adjacent to 100,000 information unit volition beryllium deployed to transportation retired World Cup-related information tasks during the five-week tournament.

After the presentations by information officials, Sheinbaum declared that Mexico is “extremely well-prepared” for the event.

The archetypal World Cup lucifer volition instrumentality spot successful Mexico City connected June 11, with Mexico squaring disconnected against South Africa astatine Estadio Azteca.

CJNG’s powerfulness has ‘definitely’ declined, says García Harfuch 

During the Q&A conception of the mañanera, a newsman said that astir 200 leaders and members of the CJNG person been arrested, though helium didn’t specify the play helium was referring to. The newsman asserted that the cartel’s powerfulness “has evidently declined” arsenic a effect of the arrests, an reflection that García Harfuch said was “definitely” correct.

🚨 Omar García Harfuch informó la detención de 70 presuntos criminales en siete estados, tras una jornada marcada por múltiples enfrentamientos.

El funcionario detalló que en Jalisco se registraron 27 agresiones contra fuerzas de seguridad, calificadas como “cobardes”.

Los… pic.twitter.com/4o55Yqt8Rm

— Aristegui Noticias (@AristeguiOnline) February 23, 2026

The information curate added that aft the convulsive effect to El Mencho’s death, authorities “were capable to reestablish peace” successful Jalisco “very quickly.”

Sheinbaum made akin remarks connected Monday.

While it whitethorn beryllium weakened, the CJNG is inactive considered 1 of the 2 astir almighty transgression organizations successful Mexico, the different being the Sinaloa Cartel. The CJNG operates successful the immense bulk of Mexican states, but its heartland is Jalisco.

Could the US transportation retired a unilateral subject enactment against cartels successful Mexico?

A newsman noted that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said connected Thursday that the United States was prepared to instrumentality unilateral enactment against cause cartels successful Latin America.

The Associated Press reported that Hegseth “urged Latin American countries to instrumentality a much assertive attack against cause cartels, informing that the Trump medication would beryllium forced to enactment by itself if governments neglect to efficaciously combat transgression organizations that straight endanger the United States and borderline security.”

“America is prepared to instrumentality connected these threats and spell connected the discourtesy unsocial if necessary,” helium told defence officials from 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries during a code astatine U.S. Southern Command successful Miami.

Trump: The US volition ‘now’ commencement hitting Mexican onshore targets

“However, it is our preference, and it is the extremity of this conference, that successful the involvement of this neighborhood, we each bash it unneurotic with you,” Hegseth said.

The Guardian noted that officials from “three cardinal nations with a important stock of cause accumulation oregon trafficking — Colombia, Mexico and Brazil — did not attend” the lawsuit successful Miami.

The aforesaid newsman asked Sheinbaum whether Mexico has avoided the anticipation of a unilateral U.S. enactment acknowledgment to “the downfall of Nemesio Oseguera,” who was located successful Tapalpa, Jalisco, arsenic a effect of Mexican and U.S. intelligence.

The president — arsenic she has done galore times earlier — pointed retired that Mexico and the United States person a information “understanding” that allows bilateral “coordination,” including via the speech of intelligence. However, each state has to run “in its ain territory,” said Sheinbaum, who often asserts that her authorities volition not judge immoderate benignant of U.S. subject enactment successful Mexico oregon immoderate different usurpation of Mexican sovereignty.

U.S. President Donald Trump said successful January that the United States would commencement “hitting” cartels connected onshore successful Mexico, but aft speaking with her counterpart connected Jan. 12, Sheinbaum declared that U.S. subject enactment southbound of the borderline could beryllium ruled out.

On Friday morning, she said that Mexico and the United States would proceed to transportation retired information operations successful their ain territory, and noted that officials from the 2 countries would stitchery for different bilateral information gathering soon.

By Mexico News Daily main unit writer Peter Davies ([email protected])