On February 21, it was reported that 'El Mencho' was in that location, accompanied by a security detail. Since March 2020, U.S. authorities had identified the area of Tapalpa, Jalisco, where Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 'El Mencho', was hiding, as a money laundering point for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) through three sets of cabins designated by the Department of Treasury as front businesses for the criminal group. This background becomes relevant after the operation described this Monday by the Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Treviño Trejo, who confirmed that the CJNG leader was sheltered in a cabin in Tapalpa, with an armed security circle. 'On February 20, through central military intelligence work, a trusted man of one of 'El Mencho's' romantic partners was located, who was taken to a facility located in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco,' explained the general during the morning conference. 'El Mencho's' security personnel opened fire on military personnel... The attack was extremely violent.' At that site, he added, 'said romantic partner met with El Mencho.' According to the head of Sedena, the next day it was confirmed that the capo remained in the property, accompanied by his security team. That same day, the operation was planned,' he detailed. Once the presence of the CJNG leader in Tapalpa was corroborated, on Sunday, February 22, members of the Army's Special Forces and the National Guard's Immediate Reaction Special Force were deployed. The capo managed to flee, leaving behind his armed group, and the final toll was eight organized crime members dead. An official organizational chart of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), dated March 2020, identifies three sets of cabins located in Tapalpa—in the area where the operation took place—as financial entities linked to the CJNG and Los Cuinis. According to OFAC, which is an agency of the Department of the Treasury, those tourist businesses operated under the names 'Las Flores Cabins', 'La Loma Cabins', and 'La Loma Cabins for Rent' or 'La Loma Cabins Tapalpa'. The addresses recorded by the U.S. Treasury place these tourist complexes on the Tapalpa-San Gabriel road. The business 'Las Flores Cabins' was being investigated by the Department of the Treasury since 2015, while the designation 'La Loma Cabins' was included in the OFAC list in September 2017. Those two businesses, along with 'La Loma Cabins for Rent/La Loma Cabins Tapalpa', were included in March 2020 in the list of businesses sanctioned by OFAC for their alleged ties to the CJNG. The operation narrated by Sedena shows that Tapalpa was not only a enclave for money laundering but also a point where 'El Mencho' was hiding under the protection of his armed structure.
