Dozens dead in Mexico violence after drug kingpin killed

Mexico's Minister of Defence Ricardo Trevilla Trejo speaks next to President Claudia Sheinbaum during her daily press conference at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on February 23, 2026. [AFP]

Twenty-five Mexican troops died in clashes with cartel gunmen following a raid that led to the death of the country's most-wanted drug lord, a top security official said Monday.