Day Sunday, date 22 February 2025, Jalisco state of Mexico. The Mexican Army receives intelligence from the American Army, after which a secret operation begins. In this operation there is a shootout between security forces and members of a drug cartel. In this encounter, the leader of this drug cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, gets injured, who dies while being taken to the hospital. Now you will think that the leader of a drug dealing gang has been killed, what is the big deal in this?
So know that he was not an ordinary gangster, he was involved in the world of crime. ‘El Mencho’ The state of Jalisco in Mexico is burning after his assassination. After his death, there was arson on the streets, bullets were fired openly and panic spread among the common people. Let us find out who was El Mencho and how did he become a bounty of Rs 136 crore?
The full name of ‘EL Mencho’ is Nemecio Oseguera Cervantes, who is considered the head of Mexico’s powerful drug cartel Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Talking about its assets, the financial information of the cartel is not publicly audited and is deliberately kept confidential. However, assessments by American and Mexican intelligence agencies have been almost identical for many years. According to former DEA officer Kyle Mori, El Mencho’s personal wealth was estimated to be at least $500 million and could exceed $1 billion.
This property is considered less directly in his name and more indirectly. These are said to include:
- Large Farmhouses and Ranches
- luxury property
- private plane
- racehorse
- crypto holdings
- Seemingly legitimate businesses like restaurants, construction companies, avocado packing plants
- cash and gold reserves
It is said that a lot of assets were kept in the names of family members and shell companies.
How big is CJNG’s empire?
According to intelligence estimates, CJNG conducted illegal business worth billions of dollars (double-digit billions) every year.
According to the conservative estimate:
- About 8 billion dollars annually from cocaine
- About $4.6 billion from methamphetamine
- Also has a major stake in the fentanyl trade (low costs, extremely high profits).
- Some Mexican government estimates put CJNG’s total assets at around $50 billion, although these figures are not officially verified.
What weapons did EL Mencho have?
The cartel network has a huge amount of weapons. Reports from various security agencies noted that the CJNG had:
Assault rifles (such as the AR-15 and AK-47 types)
- 50 caliber sniper rifles
- grenade launcher
- armored vehicle
- Use of drones (in some cases to carry explosives)
- These weapons were usually obtained through illegal smuggling and black market.
These are those 6 drug lords in front of whom even El Mencho is nothing.
1. Pablo Escobar is the one who killed thousands of people.
If we talk about the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, the name of Pablo Escobar comes at the top. He was not just a drug smuggler, but a person who shook the politics, economy and security of the entire country. Escobar was the leader of Colombia’s Medellin Cartel. In the 1980–90s, its network extended to America and Europe.
Talking about the allegations against Pablo Escobar – ordering thousands of murders, killing of judges, journalists and police officers, plane bomb blast (1989). Open bribery or intimidation of government officials. At that time there was a saying in Colombia. ‘Plata o Plomo’ – i.e. ‘Take the money or get shot.’
How rich was he?
Forbes magazine had kept him in the list of the world’s richest people for 7 years. Estimated wealth: 25 to 30 billion dollars (as of 1990s) Earning millions of dollars every week. So much cash that every year millions of dollars were spent just in buying rubber bands. Billions of dollars buried underground (much of which rotted away or were never found)
How many weapons and how much power?
Escobar’s cartel had a stockpile of heavy weapons.
AK-47 and other assault rifles
- machine gun
- explosive
- armored vehicle
- Private jets and helicopters
He had created a structure like a private army for himself. Thousands of armed henchmen worked on his instructions.
How dangerous was Pablo Escobar?
It is estimated that the deaths of more than 4,000 people are linked to his network. He organized an attack on the Supreme Court of Colombia, assassinated presidential candidates and spread terror throughout the country. However, he also tried to create a “Robin Hood” image by building houses and football grounds in poor areas. But this does not reduce his violence and crimes. In 1993, he was killed by Colombian security forces in Medellin. Even after his death the drug cartels did not end, but his empire broke.
2. Infamous Tales of Amado Carrillo Fuentes
In the world of drug smuggling, if a name is taken as ‘quiet but very dangerous’, then Amado Currio Fuentes is counted at the top. He was called ‘El Señor de los Cielos’ (Lord of the Skies). Because he had such a network of private planes, which made him a businessman worth billions of dollars. He was the head of the Juárez Cartel and controlled much of the cocaine supply from Mexico to the United States in the 1990s.
- air smuggling of cocaine from colombia
- Fleet of dozens of jet planes
- Large-scale drug shipment through US-Mexico border
- Subduing rival cartels and officials through bribery or violence
- His network was so organized that he dealt directly with the Colombian cartels.
How much property does Amado Carrillo Fuentes own?
There are no publicly audited figures, but intelligence agencies estimate:
Estimated net worth: Between $10 and $25 billion (estimated)
- Tons of cocaine smuggled every month
- Private jets, luxury properties, ranches and shell companies
- He was counted among the richest drug lords of his time.
How many weapons and how much power?
Amado’s strength was not just in weapons, but in logistics.
Use of more than 20 Boeing 727 and other jet aircraft
Assault Rifles and Automatic Weapons
armored vehicle
Although he was not as openly violent as Pablo Escobar, he took extremely brutal actions when necessary. Hundreds of murders and gang wars took place during his reign. Although he tried to keep a low-profile, he resorted to violence to maintain power.
3. Dawood Ibrahim: Global face of the underworld
Dawood Ibrahim is counted among the most famous fugitive criminals of India.
- Accused of being the mastermind of 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts
- Organized crime, hawala, drug trafficking and extortion
- His network is known as D-Company
Included in the wanted list of Indian agencies and Interpol.
According to media and intelligence estimates, his alleged wealth is estimated to be around $6–7 billion (not officially confirmed).
Sources of Earning:
- hawala network
- real estate
- drugs and illegal trade
- Shell companies abroad
How much weapon and how much dread?
- AK series rifles
- explosive network
- international smuggling channels
- Gang wars and target killings
He is considered a highly organized and strategic crime leader, who emphasized network-based operations rather than direct warfare.
4. Ochoa Brothers are no less than anyone
The Ochoa brothers (Fabio, Jorge and Juan David) were prominent members of the notorious Medellín Cartel. Along with Pablo Escobar, he controlled a large part of the cocaine supply in America in the 1980s.
Estimated combined net worth: Approximately $6 billion (estimated).
- cocaine export
- Ranch and Racing Farm
- Legal and illegal business
- How much weapon and how much dread?
- assault rifles
- private armed guard
- Explosives and armored vehicles
- Although he is not considered as aggressive as Escobar, he was involved in cartel violence.
5. Khun Sa: ‘Opium King’ of the Golden Triangle
Khun Sa was considered the biggest drug kingpin in the “Golden Triangle” region of the Myanmar-Thailand-Laos border.
- Global network of heroin trafficking
- Large world opium supply in the 1970s–90s
How rich?
- Exact figures are not available, but he was considered the owner of an empire worth billions of dollars.
- opium and heroin export
- cross border smuggling network
- How much weapon and how much dread?
- Private militias (thousands of armed fighters)
- automatic weapon
- Paramilitary structure in border areas
- He was not just a smuggler but ran a structure like an armed rebel commander.
6. Joaquín Guzmán aka ‘EL Chapo’
If one name has made global headlines in Mexico’s drug history, it is ‘El Chapo’. His real name is Joaquin Guzman, and he was the leader of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel. His network was so large that it controlled the supply of drug smuggling in many countries including America for decades.
How notorious?
Active in international drug trafficking since the 1980s and 1990s
Trafficking in cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and later fentanyl
Escaped from Mexican jail twice in film style
Included in the “Most Wanted” lists of both America and Mexico.
In 2019, the American court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
How rich?
- Forbes once included him in the list of the world’s richest people.
- Estimated net worth: About $1 to $3 billion (not an official audited figure)
- Billion dollar annual drug trade
- Cash, assets, shell companies and smuggling networks
- However, it is difficult to give exact figures, because the earnings of illegal business remain hidden.
How many weapons?
- The Sinaloa Cartel reportedly possessed a large cache of weapons:
- Assault rifles like AK-47 and AR-15
- machine gun
- Grenades and Explosives
- armored vehicle
- Use of tunnels and high-tech smuggling routes
- His organization had created a military-like structure in terms of weapons and logistics.
How dangerous?
- Name linked to thousands of murders and gang wars
- Attacks on rival cartels and government officials
- Violent conflict to capture smuggling routes
- Although he sometimes acted strategically by avoiding direct violence, the basis of his empire was fear and force.
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