On 22 February 2026, Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (“El Mencho”), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), during a federal operation in Jalisco state. Within hours, coordinated cartel retaliation erupted across Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima and Guanajuato, with armed clashes and organized narco blockades using burning trucks to shut down key highways. By 22–23 February, critical road corridors linking Mexico’s industrial interior to the Port of Manzanillo were disrupted, effectively isolating the country’s primary Pacific trade gateway.
Authorities issued conflicting statements on 22 February regarding port status. Early communications referenced suspension of activities, while later statements from the Secretariat of the Navy indicated that operations continued under reinforced security measures. Regardless of terminal status, highway blockades on 22–23 February disrupted inland container evacuation, tightened trucking capacity and delayed cargo moving between Manzanillo, Guadalajara and northbound corridors toward Laredo and El Paso. Given that Manzanillo handles approximately 45 percent of Mexico’s containerized imports and serves as the main Pacific entry point for Asian cargo, even short-term inland disruption carries implications for automotive, electronics and cross-border supply chains.
If the violence stabilizes quickly, impacts may remain regionally concentrated. However, further sustained blockades would risk spillover delays into U.S.–Mexico trade flows and just-in-time manufacturing networks across North America.
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