“El Mencho” buried in a golden coffin!
El Mencho’s body was transported in a golden casket and escorted by a regional band that began playing songs such as ‘El Muchacho Alegre’ (The Cheerful Boy), before entering the chapel.
Guadalajara, Mexico, Mar 2 (EFE).-
In a golden coffin, accompanied by regional Mexican music and under a massive military and police presence, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias ‘El Mencho,’ was buried Monday in a cemetery in Zapopan, near Guadalajara.
At midday on Monday, the hearse arrived at Recinto de La Paz, a cemetery west of the city and about 23 kilometers (15 miles) from where the wake was held. The cemetery was guarded by federal, state, and municipal security forces.
The body was transported in a golden casket and was received by a regional band that began playing songs such as ‘El Muchacho Alegre’ (The Cheerful Boy), before entering the chapel.
The hearse was preceded by three cranes that transported the dozens of floral arrangements that arrived during the funeral and which, due to their size, were unable to be taken through the usual cemetery entrances.
Since last Saturday, when family members claimed the body at the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City, a large security operation was deployed in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area by the Mexican army, the National Guard, and state police.
The body of the most wanted drug lord in Mexico and the United States arrived at the funeral home Sunday night, heavily escorted by civilian and military vehicles tasked with guarding the hearse.
From that moment on, dozens of floral arrangements with white roses arrived, among which one stood out with a ribbon displaying the initials “CJNG,” as well as another with red roses in the shape of a rooster, alluding to the fact that the alleged drug lord was known as ‘The Lord of the Roosters.’ Most of the arrangements arrived without ribbons identifying the sender.
The entry and exit of people around the funeral home was controlled by the military; a military vehicle was even present, remaining there until the transfer to the cemetery.
Because no federal, state, or municipal authority has confirmed the presence of the drug lord’s remains, the mobilization of military personnel has caused tension and fear among the population of Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, which will be one of the three Mexican cities hosting the World Cup in just 100 days.
Jalisco, in western Mexico, is still trying to recover from the fires and riots of Sunday, Feb. 22, when the state governor, Pablo Lemuns, declared a two-day “Code Red” due to the violent response from El Mencho’s allies and associates following his death.
The cartel boss was seriously wounded in a Mexican security forces operation last month to arrest him in Tapalpa, a small town in Jalisco south of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
The military operation against El Mencho, 59, triggered a wave of violence across much of Mexico, including fiery road blockades, arson attacks on businesses, flight cancellations, and attacks on security forces by organized crime.
According to authorities, 25 members of the National Guard and more than 30 members of the CJNG died in clashes following the military operation, most of them in Jalisco. EFE
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