Old audio resurfaces showing El Mencho threatening police years before his death

Past audio resurfaces featuring El Mencho’s warning to police

A decade-old audio clip attributed to Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, has resurfaced online days after Mexican authorities confirmed his death in a military operation. The recording, first leaked in 2016, captures the Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader angrily ordering a local police officer to pull back forces during an operation, using threats and reminding him of alleged financial payoffs.

In the clip, El Mencho is heard telling the officer to “tell your sons of bitches to fall back,” adding that the police had long accepted his money. The officer’s response, calm and deferential, is what has shocked many listeners. “Sir, you know me, I’m on your side,” he says, according to transcripts circulated by Mexican media over the years. The exchange offered a rare, unfiltered look at how cartel leaders exerted control without firing a shot.

At the time the audio emerged, Mexican authorities neither authenticated nor denied it outright, but it circulated widely among journalists and security analysts. It quickly became shorthand for the reach of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which grew from a regional offshoot into one of the country’s most powerful criminal groups. Unlike older cartels that relied on quiet bribery, CJNG became known for combining extreme violence with direct challenges to the state.

The resurfacing of the clip now carries added weight because El Mencho was killed earlier this month in a joint operation by Mexican forces, reportedly with US intelligence support. His death triggered retaliatory violence across several states, including arson attacks on vehicles and businesses. Against that backdrop, the old recording feels less like history and more like context.

Security experts say the audio helps explain why dismantling cartel influence has proven so difficult. It is not just about gunmen or drug routes, but about compromised local institutions. When police commanders are pressured or bought off, enforcement collapses from within. Even well-planned operations can be undone by a single phone call.

Mexican officials have repeatedly said they are working to clean up local police forces through vetting and federal oversight. Progress has been uneven. While some regions have seen improvements, others remain vulnerable, especially where cartels provide money, jobs and protection in places the state struggles to reach.

For many Mexicans, the clip is unsettling because it confirms what has long been suspected rather than revealing something new. El Mencho’s power did not come only from fear. It came from relationships that allowed him to speak to a police officer as if issuing an order to a subordinate. His death may mark the end of one chapter, but the audio is a reminder that the system he exploited has not disappeared with him.