After Killing Of 'el Mencho,' Trump Calls Mexican President To Ask: 'what's Going On?'

MEXICO CITY — President Trump telephoned his Mexican counterpart aft nan takedown of nan cartel leader known arsenic “El Mencho” and nan ensuing unit southbound of nan separator and asked: “What’s going connected successful Mexico? How are things?”

The cordial speech Monday lasted astir 8 minutes, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told journalists Wednesday during her regular greeting news conference.

The 2 said of Sunday’s sensational ambush that resulted successful nan decease of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, longtime leader of nan Jalisco New Generation cartel, 1 of 2 awesome organized-crime syndicates responsible for trafficking narcotics into nan United States.

Mexican authorities person insisted, and U.S. officials person agreed, that nary American forces were coming connected nan ground, but intelligence from Washington played an important domiciled successful finding and confronting nan long-elusive capo, according to some Mexican and U.S. accounts.

Cooperation betwixt nan the 2 nations went “very well,” Sheinbaum said she told Trump.

Oseguera was discovered hiding retired successful a wooded retreat successful occidental Jalisco authorities aft authorities tracked a female companion who was visiting, nan Mexican subject said.

But Trump, successful his State of nan Union reside Tuesday evening, depicted nan demise of El Mencho arsenic solely a U.S. success, declaring: “We’ve besides taken down 1 of nan astir sinister kingpins. You saw that yesterday.”
The remark drew thunderous applause earlier nan associated convention of nan U.S. Congress.

Trump didn’t mention Mexico’s cardinal domiciled successful El Mencho’s takedown.

On societal media, galore Mexican commentators objected to Trump taking in installments for a high-risk operation. At slightest 25 Mexican National Guard troops were killed, Mexican authorities say, arsenic supporters of nan slain cartel leader took to nan streets and lashed retired successful a spasm of violence that dispersed crossed nan country.

“What cynicism from Trump,” said 1 commentator connected X. “Mexican heroes died!”

The 25 National Guard deaths marked nan top single-day casualty count for Mexican information forces successful years, if not decades.

But different commentators credited Trump pinch strong-arming Mexico into confronting nan cartels.

Sheinbaum, wrote Lilly Tellez, an guidance Mexican senator, “doesn’t proceed pinch conviction, but because of unit from a overseas president, Trump.”

Sheinbaum shrugged disconnected Trump’s type of Sunday’s raid.

“We cognize President Trump,” Sheinbaum said, contradicting nan U.S. leader but not attacking him. “But nan accusation we person fixed is correct.”

The Mexican president has strenuously resisted Trump’s connection to deploy U.S. subject assets to assistance connected nan crushed against Mexican cartels. Direct U.S. action, she has insisted, would beryllium a usurpation of Mexico’s sovereignty.

Earlier successful his State of nan Union address, Trump repeated his longtime assertion that “large parts of Mexico — really ample parts of Mexico — person been controlled by murderous supplier cartels.” He credited U.S. efforts pinch reducing illicit supplier trafficking, particularly of fentanyl, nan deadly synthetic opioid that, according to U.S. authorities, is mostly produced successful Mexico and past smuggled into U.S. territory.

The U.S. leader made nary mention of ongoing Mexican enforcement efforts that person seen large-scale seizures of illicit drugs, demolition of clandestine laboratories, and nan arrests of scores of cartel operatives. In nan past twelvemonth aliases so, nan Mexican authorities has sent almost 100 cartel suspects to nan United States to look prosecution.

Special analogous Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.