Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes
According to the Mexican government, El Mencho may be hiding in the state of Jalisco, the CJNG's stronghold. However, they believe he does not stay in one place for too long, and travels across several municipalities in Jalisco and into the states of Michoacán, Colima, and Nayarit. He usually travels across the mountains and rural terrains in these areas since it provides multiple escape routes in the event that security forces attempt to encircle him. Authorities suspect El Mencho's inner circle is made up of mercenaries with former military training. His second security circle is much larger in size and serves as a rearguard to notify El Mencho's inner circle of suspicious activity and ambush potential parties that attempt to get close to him.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes
On 25 August 2012, a unit of the Mexican Federal Police based in Tonaya, Jalisco, responded to an anonymous tip stating that there was an organized crime cell present in a rural community close by. When the security forces got to the area, a shootout broke out between the two parties. 6 CJNG gunmen were killed in the firefight. Initial reports stated that El Mencho was captured in the operation, but the Mexican government later confirmed that he was not in custody. In a series of highly coordinated tactics to prevent El Mencho' arrest, the CJNG blocked several highways and roads across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area by setting at least 37 vehicles on fire. The purpose of the burning vehicles was to place them as blockades to impede the security forces from traveling across Jalisco's capital and giving El Mencho' ample time to escape. The blockades were placed in strategic routes to prevent police reinforcements to come in or leave Guadalajara. After the attacks were over, the government confirmed that El Mencho was in the area and had evaded capture.