Inside the Mexican country villa that became El Mencho's final refuge

Feared Mexican cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, or “El Mencho,” spent his final hours in a luxury villa tucked inside the exclusive Tapalpa Country Club, a gated enclave of weekend homes in the hills of Mexico’s western state of Jalisco.

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Personal belongings inside the house where Mexican drug cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, better known as 'El Mencho', spent his final hours before he was injured in a military raid and subsequently died while being transported in a helicopter, outside Tapalpa, Mexico, on February 24, 2026. - REUTERS

(REUTERS)

The two-storey residence at No. 39 with stone walls and a red-tiled roof served as a discreet hideout for the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), who died on Sunday after a military ambush in the woods behind the home. Authorities had been led to the tranquil cluster of countryside vacation homes from a tip tied to Oseguera’s lover.