GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — The leader of a new generation of drug cartels in Jalisco state was laid to rest Monday in a shiny gold coffin with a huge wreath and a heavy military presence in the state, home to one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” is buried in a cemetery in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, a federal official confirmed. Dozens of people accompanied the funeral procession, many holding black umbrellas on the sunny day, and a band played banda, a regional Mexican music.
Officials discussing the location spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The attorney general’s office declined to confirm El Mencho’s burial location for “security reasons.”
Security has been stepped up around a funeral home since Sunday, where large wreaths without names have been arriving. Some do contain the image of a rooster among flowers, and Ocegra Cervantes is sometimes called the “Cock King.”
A week ago, Mexican troops killed Oceguera Cervantes while trying to capture him. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to a death certificate obtained by The Associated Press.
The killing sparked violence in about 20 states. The death certificate matched Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla’s description of the operation to capture Oceguera Cervantes. Trevilla has said the cartel leader and two bodyguards were seriously wounded in a shootout with soldiers outside a home in Tapalpa, Jalisco state. Three people died on the way to hospital.
The certificate states that Oseguera Cervantes suffered gunshot wounds to the chest, abdomen and leg.
His body was sent to Mexico City for an autopsy before being handed over to his family on Saturday, the attorney general’s office said in a brief statement.
The death certificate also states that Oseguera Cervantes will be buried, as is standard practice in violent death cases, to allow for the collection of additional forensic evidence if needed in the future. The document did not indicate the burial location.
Authorities’ concerns about the safety of the burial site are well-founded. Oseguera Cervantes’ killing sparked retaliation by drug cartels in several states. More than 70 people have died during the military operation and subsequent violence. The government said security operations targeting other senior members of the cartel were continuing.
The tombs of Mexican drug lords are often shrouded in an aura of mystery, something their supporters exploit to try to elevate them into legend. Within hours of El Mencho’s death, there was already a ballad called “narcocorridos” telling the story of his murder.
In the neighboring state of Sinaloa, Culiacán, home to the cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its lavish tombs and mausoleums, where former leaders Ignacio Coronel (El Mencho’s old colleague) and Arturo Beltran Leyva are buried.
Known drug lord Nazario Moreno, the twice-slain leader of the violent pseudo-religious Templar group, was killed in 2010 but not in 2014, authorities said.
Sometimes bodies disappear, as in the case of Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the fearsome Zetas whose body was stolen in 2012. Or they die under bizarre circumstances, like “Sky King” Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who died from a botched plastic surgery.
___
Sanchez reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.
