Jack Nicas

Right, and I think that's precisely why the cartels have become such an intractable problem for Mexico.

So what we know is that on Sunday morning, Mexican special forces and the Mexican army raided a rental home in a wooded, picturesque ranch town about two hours south of Guadalajara in Jalisco.

And they were backed by six military helicopters, and they got into a very intense firefight with El Mencho and his men.

Mencho slipped out the back and tried to escape with at least two bodyguards.

Eventually, Mexican forces then found him hiding in the brush.

They continued to engage in crossfire with Mencho and his bodyguards.

They shot Mencho and his bodyguards.

They were mortally wounded.

They then put El Mencho and his two other bodyguards on a helicopter for air transport to a hospital.

And on the way, we are told they died.

And that was it.

It was certainly bloody.

It was certainly violent.

But government officials actually told me that it was better than they expected.

Well, as we noted, El Mencho was an incredibly elusive figure because he was incredibly disciplined.

However, it appears that he got a little sloppy.

The Mexican government says that they identified a quote-unquote close associate of a woman who was one of El Mencho's lovers.

And they watched this man drop this woman off at the home where El Mencho was staying.

And at that point, they were somehow able to confirm that El Mencho was home.

Yes, it came down to his lover.