The liquidation of El Mencha was a personal matter

Mexico's security chief, the man who helped lead the operation that killed the drug lord known as El Mencho, spends his days and nights in fortified office buildings, including a one-bedroom apartment in the Ministry of Security built for him.

His quarters - in a modern complex next to a busy thoroughfare - include a bedroom, a gym, a kitchen and a 25-seat conference room. From the living room, guests can hear gunfire from a shooting range inside the building's complex, according to a senior government official who visited the apartment. A red telephone on his desk provides a direct line to the president.

Omar García Harfuch (44) has been living this way since 2020, when a truck cut off his armored Chevrolet on his way to work, after which the attackers, disguised as road workers, sprayed the vehicle with more than 400 bullets. Harfuch returned fire and survived with three gunshot wounds. Two of his bodyguards and a passerby were killed.

The security chief blamed the assassination attempt on Nemesio Oseguera, 59, known as El Mencho, the leader of the brutal Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexico's largest and bloodiest crime groups. Six years later, the cartel leader's killing was a deeply personal moment for Harfuch, who, according to friends, was devastated by the deaths of his bodyguards.

Harfuch declined to comment for this story. The report is based on interviews with a dozen of his friends, colleagues and security analysts.

Those close to him say it is unlikely that Harfuch will let his guard down now that El Mencha is gone. But the drug lord’s death has further elevated him to the forefront as minister of security and citizen protection in President Claudia Scheinbaum’s government. He is seen as leading her more assertive approach to the fight against the cartels, to the point that many already see him as an early favorite to be president when her six-year term ends in 2030.

“Omar García Harfuch is the number one candidate for president today,” says Armando Vargas, a leading security expert at the Mexico Evalua think tank. “He is the most visible representative of this new strategy.”

Such an approach, however, also carries risks: El Mencho's death triggered a wave of violence across Mexico that killed 25 National Guard members, and could further fuel bloody conflicts as rival factions of the cartels fight for control.

It is also a clear departure from former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's "hugs, not bullets" philosophy, during which the cartels significantly strengthened and expanded their influence, taking control of large swaths of territory and expanding their activities from drug trafficking to extortion, human trafficking and fuel smuggling.

President's trust

Harfuch distinguished himself in the Mexico City administration while current President Sheinbaum was the capital's mayor.

Rodrigo Canales, who advised Sheinbaum on her security strategy, said Harfuch helped her navigate a difficult period early in her mayoral term, when senior police officials were accused of corruption.

“He enjoys Claudia's absolute trust and has earned it by being extremely loyal and effective at key moments at the beginning of her mandate,” Canales said.

Sheinbaum promoted Harfuč to the position of city police chief in 2019, after dismissing his predecessor over a money laundering scandal.

Harfuch had been in the position for less than a year when he was targeted. After initially returning fire, he jumped into the back seat of his armored SUV and hid until reinforcements arrived, he recalled in interviews after the attack. Twelve alleged members of the Jalisco cartel were arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

He moved out of his home after the ambush and into Mexico City police headquarters. His inner circle of associates, which was already small, has become even smaller. He sees his children only occasionally and briefly.

"From someone who could go to a restaurant, see friends, or attend a colleague's birthday party, he became a man who lives under constant security in an office and spends practically 90 percent of his life in police buildings," said a friend who has known Harfuč for 20 years.

Like the cartel bosses he pursues, one mistake could cost him his life.

In the footsteps of family tradition

Harfuch comes from a family of high-ranking Mexican officials.

His grandfather, Marcelino García Barragan, was Minister of Defense in the 1960s, while his father, Javier García Paniagua, was a senator and presidential candidate who headed a federal security agency in the 1970s.

That combination of police and military heritage is rare in Mexico and puts Harfuch in a unique position to lead the country's heavily militarized public security system, according to two sources who have worked with him.

“Garcia Harfuch, in a way, was destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather,” said Gladys McCormick, a professor and historian of U.S.-Mexican relations at Syracuse University.

However, that same legacy is viewed with suspicion by parts of the ruling leftist Moreno party. Both his grandfather and father headed institutions during periods marked by military abuses and security forces' repression of social movements.

From someone who could go to a restaurant, see friends or attend a colleague's birthday party, he became a man who lives under constant security in an office and spends practically 90 percent of his life in police buildings, said a friend who has known Harfuč for 20 years.

Critics also point to Harfuch's links to the infamous disappearance of 43 students from the Ayocinapa Teachers College in 2014. A 2022 truth commission report said he - then a mid-ranking federal police officer - also attended meetings where officials crafted a version of events that covered up the role of security forces in the disappearances.

Harfuch, who has never been accused of any wrongdoing, has previously said he attended the meetings only to help coordinate the search for the missing students. No local or federal officials have been convicted in the case.

For the United States, Harfuch has emerged as a key link in security cooperation with Mexico at a time when US President Donald Trump is increasing pressure on its southern neighbor to fight the cartels more decisively, with threats of using US military force if Mexico is unable to show results.

Derek Maltz, former acting administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said he met with Harfuch last year, shortly after Mexico transferred 29 suspected high-ranking cartel members to the US, which was then the largest such surrender in history.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘This is just the beginning,’” Malc recalled.

Maltz initially had his doubts, but in the months that followed, Mexico handed over 63 more suspected cartel leaders and took down the country's most wanted drug lord. "I'm very impressed with what I'm seeing," he said.

The prisoner transfer highlights what officials from both countries describe as an unprecedented level of cooperation and intelligence sharing as they seek to dismantle cartels through military operations, money laundering investigations, and drug and firearm seizures.

The chase for El Mencha

The search for El Mencha gained urgency in November, when the Jalisco cartel kidnapped two of Harfuch's investigators in the city of Zapopan, a cartel stronghold, a senior Mexican official said.

Soldiers then raided the homes of suspected cartel members, and during the interrogations, information was gathered that helped further tighten the noose around El Mencha. Reuters first reported the role of these kidnappings in the search for El Mencha. The agents were released a week later.

The breakthrough came when authorities tracked one of El Mencho's many girlfriends to his mansion, Mexican Defense Minister Ricardo Trevillo said. A new task force led by the U.S. military then confirmed the exact location of the house, Reuters reported.

But according to the official, the crucial mistake was not the romance, but that the 59-year-old cartel leader wanted to see the two children he had with the woman. Mexican troops stormed the villa after the girl and El Mencho's children left.

After an exchange of fire, El Mencho died in a military helicopter en route to the hospital. Eight of his bodyguards were also killed. Two soldiers died during the raid, and two others later succumbed to their injuries.

Harfuch received a message with confirmation and a photo of El Mencho's body, still in a bulletproof vest, the Mexican official said.

“I spoke to him on Sunday morning, after El Mencho was killed,” said Eduardo Clark, a senior health official in Mexico who is close to Harfuch. “He told me, ‘This is a huge relief.’”

Prepared by: A. Š.