A wave of violence has broken out in Mexico after the country’s most wanted drug baron was killed in an operation seeking his arrest.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, was the leader of the feared Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) drug cartel and died after being seriously injured in clashes between his supporters and the army on Sunday.

Four CJNG members were killed during the operation in the town of Tapalpa, in the central-western Jalisco state, and three army personnel were also injured, the Mexican defence ministry said.

Retaliation for the drug lord’s death has seen violence spread to at least a dozen states, with CJNG blocking roads with burning vehicles.

Throughout Sunday there were reports of gunmen on the streets in Jalisco and elsewhere. 

Eyewitnesses filmed plumes of smoke rising over several cities including Guadalajara – one of the host cities of the forthcoming Fifa World Cup.

Jalisco’s Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro declared a code red in the state, pausing all public transport and cancelling mass events and in-person classes.

Tourists who spoke to news agency Reuters described the resort town of Puerto Vallarta as a “war zone”.

Some 250 roadblocks were in place across the country during the unrest, with 65 in Jalisco, the BBC’s US news partner CBS reported. In its latest update, the Mexican security cabinet said four blockades remained active in Jalisco.

The cabinet says 25 people have been arrested, 11 for their alleged participation in violent acts and 14 more for alleged looting and pillaging.

Shops were on fire and about 20 bank branches were attacked in the violence, it added.

An armed man has been shot dead after entering the secure perimeter of US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the Secret Service has said.

The man was carrying a shotgun and fuel can when he was stopped and shot by Secret Service agents and a Sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.

The incident happened around 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT) on Sunday morning, when the president was in Washington DC. 

The suspect has been named as 21-year-old Austin T Martin of Cameron, North Carolina, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS.

His family in North Carolina had reported him missing in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to the BBC. 

The missing persons information has since been turned over to federal authorities, the sheriff’s office said.

They added that the department had no prior history involving Martin and it was not involved in the Florida investigation.

Officials are looking into whether he bought the gun along the driving route he took from North Carolina to Florida, according to CBS.

Secret Service agents fired at him after they saw him “unlawfully entering the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early this morning”, agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted on X.

The suspect “was observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can”, the agency said in a statement.

The man was then shot after refusing orders, Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

“The only words that we said to him was ‘drop the items’ which means the gas can and the shotgun,” Bradshaw told a news conference. 

“At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” he said. 

At that point, agents fired their weapons to “neutralise the threat”, he said.

The officers were wearing body cameras and no law enforcement officers were injured, he added.

Bradshaw said that he does not know if the suspect’s gun was loaded, and that will form part of an investigation, which the FBI will be assisting in.

By Anthony Solly

A man was shot and killed by law enforcement after “unlawfully entering” the grounds of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Secret Service said.

The man was seen near the north gate of the complex carrying “what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can,” the Secret Service said in a statement on X. He was shot by Secret Service agents and a Deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the statement said.

The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, the Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.

President Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the shooting

“The incident, including the individual’s background, actions, potential motive, and the use of force, is under investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office,” the Secret Service said.

At a Sunday morning news conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that at 1:30 am, a deputy and two Secret Service agents confronted a “white male” who had made his way into the inner perimeter of the property and was holding a gas can and a shotgun.

“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. “At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.” The suspect was declared dead at the scene.

Bradshaw said that no security personnel were wounded during the encounter, and he then distributed photographs of the shotgun and gas can to the media at the conference.

President Trump previously survived an assassination attempt on the campaign trail in July 2024, when he was shot at during an event in Butler, Pennsylvania. One person in the audience was killed, and two were critically injured in the incident. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by law enforcement.

Then, in September 2024, Secret Service members spotted a man hiding with a rifle in the bushes of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, where the president was playing, just one hole away. That man, later identified as Ryan Routh, was found guilty in September 2025 of trying to assassinate the President.

Students at several universities in Iran have staged anti-government protests – the first such rallies on this scale since January’s deadly crackdown by the authorities.

The BBC has verified footage of demonstrators marching on the campus of the Sharif University of Technology in the capital Tehran on Saturday. They were later seen scuffling with government supporters.

Protests were also reported at other universities in Tehran and elsewhere – with students gathering to honour thousands of those killed by authorities last month.

It comes as the US builds up its military presence near Iran, with President Donald Trump has saying he is considering a limited military strike.

The US and its European allies suspect that Iran is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something Iran has always denied.

US and Iranian officials met in Switzerland on Tuesday and said progress had been made in talks aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.

But despite the reported progress, Trump said afterwards that the world would find out “over the next, probably, 10 days” whether a deal would be reached with Iran or the US would take military action.

The US leader has supported protesters in the past – at one stage appearing to encourage them with a promise that “help is on its way”.

Footage verified by the BBC shows hundreds of protesters peacefully marching on the campus of the Sharif University of Technology at the start of a new semester on Saturday.

The crowds chanted “death to the dictator” – a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – and other anti-government slogans.

A separate crowd of supporters of a rival pro-government rally – many with national Iranian flags – are seen nearby at the beginning of the video. Scuffles are later seen breaking out between the two camps.

Verified photos have also emerged showing a peaceful sit-in protest at the capital’s Shahid Beheshti University.

The BBC has also verified footage from another Tehran university, Amir Kabir University of Technology, showing chanting against the government.

In Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city in the north-east, local students reportedly chanted: “Freedom, freedom” and “Students, shout, shout for your rights”.

It is not immediately clear whether any demonstrators have been arrested. There have been reports of protests continuing on Sunday.

January’s protests began over economic grievances and soon spread to become Iran’s largest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said it had confirmed the killing of at least 7,015 people during that wave, including 6,508 protesters, 226 children and 214 people affiliated with the government. The latest figures were updated on 15 February.

Hrana also said it was investigating 11,744 more reported deaths.

Iranian authorities said late last month that more than 3,100 people had been killed – but that the majority were security personnel or bystanders attacked by “rioters”.

With Trump’s threats looming, Iranian authorities are continuing to prepare for possible conflict with the US.

US envoy Steve Witkoff said on Saturday that Trump was questioning why Iran had not “capitulated” in the face of Washington’s military build-up.

Witkoff told Fox News the president was “curious” about Iran’s position after he had warned them of severe consequences in the event they failed to strike a deal.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” he said.

The exiled opposition is adamantly calling on President Trump to make good on his threats and strike, hoping for a quick downfall of the current hardline government.

But other opposition groups are opposed to outside intervention.

The opposing sides have been involved in disinformation campaigns of social media, trying to maximise their conflicting narratives of what Iranian people want.