Mexican Special Forces Kill Mastermind Behind Cartel Terrorism Outbreak

Mexican authorities have announced that they have killed a man known as ‘El Tuli,’ the right-hand man of cartel boss ‘El Mencho,’ in a subsequent operation after cartel-led violence swept across Mexico.

Army kills ‘El Tuli’, El Mencho’s right-hand man who masterminded the post-boss-death violence, blockades & fires in Jalisco. He even put a 20k peso (~$1,200) bounty on soldiers’ heads. Killed in shootout while fleeing; troops seized ~$410K MXN + $965K USD cash + arsenal. Big… pic.twitter.com/qJrq4A5cqt

— Cartel Watch (@CartelWatchNet) February 23, 2026

El Tuli had reportedly masterminded the CJNG response to the operation that killed the head of their cartel. El Tuli is said to have placed a bounty on the heads of government authorities, paying his criminal henchmen around $1200 per government soldier killed during the outbreak of violence.

Newsweek reported that the cartel underboss was killed while attempting to escape authorities in Jalisco. The Mexican government managed to seize nearly a million dollars of CJNG funds, arms, and El Tuli’s escape vehicle.

The unprecedented wave of violence that took hold over numerous Mexican states saw air travel into multiple regions suspended, 25 Mexican National Guard killed, and a shelter-in-place warning issued for American citizens vacationing in the country.

Airports were reportedly attacked, and cartel members threatened to break into homes and hotels or kill pedestrians indiscriminately on the streets should their demands not be met.

Feb. 23 – Second Update: Multiple airlines are operating from Guadalajara and from Puerto Vallarta as of the afternoon of February 23. Confirm that your flight is on track for departure from Guadalajara or Puerto Vallarta before you depart for the airport. If your flight to the… pic.twitter.com/WUgcYdOyxM

— TravelGov (@TravelGov) February 23, 2026

Chaos erupts at Guadalajara International Airport in Jalisco, Mexico, as the CJNG Cartel launches attacks outside and potentially inside the airport, as retaliation for today’s successful elimination of CJNG leader El Mencho. pic.twitter.com/fspjMASWV1

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 22, 2026

BREAKING: A message sent to us from Tesistán, Zapopan (Jalisco), attributed to CJNG, threatens to enter homes at 5:00 PM if demands are not met. pic.twitter.com/QwnULVQ8wg

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) February 22, 2026

Mexico authorities have come down hard against the cartel, and the situation in the country has seemingly stabilized as flights to Puerto Vallarta have resumed.

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