Jalisco cartel leader 'El Mencho' buried in a golden casket in a Guadalajara cemetery

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — The leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was buried Monday in a shiny golden casket with enormous flower wreaths and a large military presence in the state that gave name to one of Mexico's most powerful cartels.

A federal official confirmed that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” was buried in a cemetery in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city. Dozens of people accompanied the funeral procession, many carrying black umbrellas on a sunny day and with a band playing Mexican regional music known as banda.

The official who discussed the location requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The Attorney General’s Office declined to confirm the location of El Mencho’s burial for “security reasons.”

There had been stepped up security since Sunday around a funeral home where large flower wreaths had been arriving without a name. Some did include the image of a rooster in flowers and Oseguera Cervantes was sometimes called the “Lord of the Roosters.”

The Mexican army killed Oseguera Cervantes just over a week ago while attempting to capture him. He died from multiple bullet wounds, according to the death certificate obtained by The Associated Press.

The killing set off violence in some 20 states. The death certificate fits with a description of the operation to capture Oseguera Cervantes given by Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla, who had said that the cartel leader and two bodyguards had been badly wounded in a gunfight with soldiers outside a home in Tapalpa, Jalisco. The three died en route to a hospital.

The certificate specified that Oseguera Cervantes had bullet wounds to his chest, abdomen and legs.

His body was taken to Mexico City where an autopsy was performed and then the body was turned over to his family on Saturday, the Attorney General’s Office said in a brief statement.

The death certificate also notes that Oseguera Cervantes was to be buried, standard practice in cases of violent deaths to allow for additional forensic evidence to be gathered if needed in the future. The document did not say where the burial would take place.

Authorities’ security concerns surrounding the burial location are well founded. Oseguera Cervantes’ killing set off retaliation by the cartel in numerous states. More than 70 people died between the military operation and the violence that followed. The government has said that security operations continue against other high-ranking members of the cartel.

It customary for an air of mystery to surround the burials of drug lords in Mexico, something their supporters take advantage of to try to elevate them to legend. Within hours of El Mencho's death there were already ballads, known as narcocorridos, written about his killing.

In Culiacan, in neighboring Sinaloa state, home to a cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its luxury crypts and mausoleums for one-time kingpins like Ignacio Coronel — an old associate of El Mencho — and Arturo Beltrán Leyva.

There was the drug lord who was famously killed twice, Nazario Moreno, leader of the violent and pseudo religious Knights Templar cartel who authorities said was killed in 2010 only to kill him for real in 2014.

Sometimes the bodies disappear, like in the case of Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the fearsome Zetas, whose body was stolen in 2012. Or they die under bizarre circumstances, like Amado Carrillo Fuentes, “Lord of the Skies,” who died in a botched plastic surgery.

Sánchez reported from Mexico City. AP writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Mexican army soldiers patrol outside Recinto de Paz cemetery in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

A police officer escorts the car carrying the remains of who authorities identified as the late Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," to Recinto de Paz cemetery for burial in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

A funeral worker opens the door of a car carrying the remains of who authorities identified as the late Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," at Recinto de Paz cemetery in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

A car carrying the remains of who authorities identified as the late Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," arrives at Recinto de Paz cemetery in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

People follow the hearse carrying the remains of who authorities identify as the late Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," at Recinto de Paz cemetery for burial in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Refugio Ruiz)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday sided with Republicans in ruling that the boundaries of the only GOP-held congressional district in New York City do not not need to be redrawn for the 2026 elections, despite a court ruling that the district is unfair to Black and Hispanic residents.

Over the dissent of the court's three liberal justices, the conservative majority halted the state court ruling that had ordered New York's redistricting commission to redraw the district held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis that covers Staten Island and a small piece of Brooklyn.

The outcome is a victory for Republicans in a national tug-of-war over redistricting that could determine control of the closely divided House of Representatives. Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority.

New York Republicans and the Trump administration had sought the high court's intervention. Qualifying for congressional elections in New York began last week.

A judge had ruled that the district was drawn in a way that dilutes the power of its Black and Hispanic voters and had ordered the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to complete a new map.

The court did not explain its rationale, as is typical in emergency appeals. But Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the judge's ruling under New York's constitution amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination” in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor objected to the Supreme Court's decision to step into the case now, though she did not defend the ruling that has been challenged.

“Time and again, this Court has said that federal courts should not meddle with state election laws ahead of an election. ... Ignoring every limit on federal courts’ authority, the Court takes the unprecedented step of staying a state trial court’s decision in a redistricting dispute on matters of state law without giving the State’s highest court a chance to act,” Sotomayor wrote, joined by her two liberal colleagues.

Malliotakis praised the high court for halting what she said was an attempt “to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections.”

“I thank the Justices who stopped the voters on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn from being stripped of their ability to elect a representative who reflects their values,” she said in a statement.

The dispute in New York is part of the redistricting battle that was spurred by President Donald Trump when he urged Republicans in Texas to redraw the state’s congressional districts for political gain. Democrats countered with their own gerrymandering in California. More states soon followed.

The Supreme Court has allowed the new maps in California and Texas to be used in this year’s elections, even as court challenges continue.

In New York, a law firm affiliated with Democrats had argued that the Staten Island district should be reshaped by excising the small section in Brooklyn and replacing it with a chunk of Lower Manhattan. The swap would have taken some Republican-leaning neighborhoods out of the district and replaced them with areas where President Donald Trump lost to former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 50 points in 2024.

While a state judge declined to impose the map they requested, he ruled change was needed to give more voting power to the growing population of Black and Hispanic residents on Staten Island.

The judge left the decision on how to redraw the state's congressional maps to New York's bipartisan redistricting commission, which had yet to produce any proposals.

New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox praised the Supreme Court order and criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic leaders for allowing the case to proceed.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)