On February 22, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, mostly referred to as “El Mencho”, head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed during a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco. This killing has impacted all of Mexico including students who were visiting, causing traveling disruptions and fear through communities.
Del Mar students who have recently visited Mexico, were impacted in many ways such as losing access to complete schoolwork, not being able to attend school, and being stuck in the country due to transportation issues.
A junior talks about how the violence has affected cities and communities nearby where they visited, along with transportation shutdowns and travel disruptions.
“There were a lot of safety measures. There were a lot of police in every corner.” said the junior.
Transportation shutdowns played a huge role in why students were not able to come back to the US.
“Airplanes, I’m not sure about buses, but in airplanes, there were a lot of delays, and in taxis too.” said the junior.
Travel disruptions have lasted up to 3-4 days, with major impacts between the days of February 22 and February 24, causing students and families to change their plans when trying to return from visiting Mexico.
“I think it depends on the area I was in. It got delayed for maybe around 3 days.” said the junior.
Not only has it affected travelling, families have been trying to make sure everyone is safe and together during this situation. It has also affected students’ academic performances, as well as normal routines.
A sophomore, talks about her experience during the period of time being stranded in Mexico due to travel delays.
“I had to reschedule another flight so that I could come back to San Jose. There was a bunch of security and stuff. I was flying alone, so I was really scared.” said the sophomore.
There were also changes in how the country looked, such as cars being on fire and being all over the place. “Following a federal security operation, multiple vehicles were set on fire throughout the state of Jalisco. The operation, conducted in Jalisco’s city of Tapalpa, led to crashes in the area.” said governor Pablo Lemus Navarro on X on the day of El Mencho’s death.
“It was from a distance, but on the plane I saw the roads and a little thing, like a little stop, and there was a car on fire. There was a lot of smoke.” said the sophomore.
This situation has also caused students to miss out on attending school for a few days due to the flights being cancelled or delayed. Students also haven’t been able to complete work from home, since there wasn’t internet access, which was caused by widespread insecurity and roadblocks along with a major security operation.
“I ended up missing a whole week of school. During the time I was in Mexico, I didn’t really have internet, so I couldn’t go on canvas and do my work. That really affected my grades. ” said the sophomore.
Along with travel disruptions, school absences and missed work, violence after Cervantes assassination has affected a lot of students, leaving them worried about their overall grades.
Dasha Ruvalcaba, a sophomore, shares her involvement with being in Mexico for a longer period of time than expected. She talks about experiencing difficulty in completing schoolwork and the safety concerns for students and parents.
“A lot of families were concerned about even being over there, like near the situation. They were scared about something happening to them and about their flights being delayed.” said Ruvalcaba.
Ruvalcaba talks about how violence outside of school can affect students’ learning and sense of safety. She explains that the experiences can affect you in multiple ways.
“For me, I was affected by my family, like what would happen to them, their safety and everything. It was also my first time going there, it was mostly also what could happen to me, I don’t really know what could happen.” said Ruvalcaba.
The impact the death of El Mencho had on students and families is huge. Students had to miss school which impacted their grades and families felt unsafe at certain times. Not only were they affected by missing school, but fear was created due to the assassination. Thankfully, these students have arrived back to San Jose safely.
