Crenshaw praises Mexican officials after 'El Mencho' death, calls cartel 'terrorist insurgency'

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said a major anti-cartel operation in Mexico that resulted in the death of "El Mencho," identified as the head of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), constituted a significant win in efforts to disrupt fentanyl production and trafficking.

Major Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as "El Mencho," was killed in a military operation Sunday morning, the country’s Defense Department announced.

Crenshaw said the CJNG "is up there with [the] Sinaloa [cartel] as being one of the deadliest cartels and one of the main producers of fentanyl that traffics onto U.S. streets," during an appearance on "Sunday Night in America."

"It's also, by far, the most militarized cartel," he added. 

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The congressman described cartel members "dressed up like they think they're special forces units" and using weapons such as RPGs, drones and IEDs, calling the group a "terrorist insurgency."

He praised new efforts by the Mexican government to target dangerous cartel members, credited U.S. intelligence sharing for supporting the raids and specifically commended Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, Omar Harfuch.

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Crenshaw said "El Mencho" and the Jalisco cartel led an assassination attempt against Harfuch in Mexico City in 2020.

"So my hat's off to him, because he is now leading the charge against the cartels... It's probably pretty good revenge for him, and so you've really finally got good people in office in Mexico that our administration can actually work with," said Crenshaw.

"El Mencho" carried a $15 million U.S. bounty and rose to power following the arrest of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa cartel. Over the past 15 years, the CJNG has grown from a local criminal group into a global trafficking organization based in Jalisco.

The announcement of his death came as government officials warned of clashes in Jalisco state and widespread criminal activity across the country, prompting the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to issue shelter-in-place advisories for multiple states.

Fox News Digital's Bonny Chu and Landon Mion contributed to this report.