where did el mencho live

El Mencho (Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes) has never had one publicly confirmed, permanent residence; instead, open sources describe a life of moving between rural hideouts and cartel-controlled zones in western Mexico.

Key places linked to where he lived

• Birthplace and childhood:
  • Born in Naranjo de Chila, in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, where he grew up in a rural farming environment surrounded by poppy fields.

• Time in the United States:
  • As a young man he migrated illegally to California, where he did farm work and later became involved in low-level drug dealing before being arrested and eventually returning to Mexico.

• Move to Jalisco (Guadalajara area):
  • After returning to Mexico, he relocated to Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, alongside members of his in‑laws’ Valencia family, and from there helped manage cartel operations in Jalisco and Colima.

How and where he was believed to live while a fugitive

• Mountain hideouts rather than city homes:
  • Law‑enforcement sources have long said he avoided cities and instead hid in mountainous, rural regions of Jalisco, Michoacán, and Colima, in areas controlled by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

* Reports describe him using remote cabins or safe houses in the mountains, surrounded by guards, constantly moving rather than settling in one obvious luxury mansion.

• Estates and infrastructure in Jalisco:
  • Investigations have pointed to him having estates and mansions in the tequila region of Jalisco, in the area between El Grullo, Cuautitlán, and Villa Purificación, including even a private hospital allegedly used for his medical treatment and to stay off the public radar.

Very recent reporting (as of 2026)

• Tapalpa cabin lead:
  • Recent news about operations against him mention a forest or wooded cabin near Tapalpa, Jalisco, about 130 km from Guadalajara, linked to movements of one of his romantic partners; this location has been cited in relation to efforts to track him down.

Simple takeaway

If you’re asking “where did El Mencho live,” the most accurate public answer is that he was born in rural Michoacán, later lived in California and then the Guadalajara area, but during his years as CJNG leader he was believed to move between secret mountain hideouts and estates in western Mexico—especially in Jalisco, Michoacán, and Colima—rather than maintaining a single, stable, known home.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.