A group of locals in Mexico rioted and assaulted Mexican soldiers after they shut down a town party known colloquially as Mencho-Fest, honoring the leader of the terrorist organization known as Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG).
The riot took place this week in the town of Tinaja de Vargas in the municipality of Tanhuato, in Michoacán, where locals were preparing a large scale town party that while originally meant to honor a local patron saint had, in recent years, turned into a celebration funded by CJNG and used to pay homage to its ruthless leader, Ruben Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera. El Mencho is currently wanted in the U.S. on multiple drug charges, and CJNG has been labelled as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Authorities raided the preparations for the party in an attempt to stop the celebrations. Government officials labeled the celebration as an encouragement or promotion of crime. In previous years, locals had placed giant billboards featuring known images of El Mencho and used large-scale fireworks displays alongside musical acts singing praises to the fugitive drug lord.
During the raid, locals rioted and fought with the military and police forces in an attempt to keep them from shutting down the preparations for the festival. Authorities continued the operation despite the riots and detained six gunmen during the chaos. For unknown reasons, the gunmen were released hours later.
In 2025, a similar festival in that same town drew much attention when videos and photographs revealed the large-scale celebration honoring El Mencho.
The raid comes as Mexico’s government continues to deal with mounting pressure from the U.S. government over its lack of results in stopping cartels.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.