US and Mexican authorities have singled out a former cop turned hired killer as North America's most wanted cartel boss.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — known as 'El Mencho' on the streets — has been identified as the most powerful crime figure living today since Joaquin Guzman 'El Chapo' Loera's arrest in 2016.

Paul Craine, who headed the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Mexico squad responsible for El Chapo's capture, has called Cervantes 'public enemy number one.'

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (L) — known as 'El Mencho' on the streets — has been identified as the most powerful crime figure living today since Joaquin Guzman 'El Chapo' Loera's (R) arrest in 2016

'And he's got an army of thousands of bad guys,' he told The New York Post in a recent interview.

Earlier this month, DEA and Mexican law enforcement officials met in Chicago to identify Cervantes, 52, as perhaps the most dangerous drug lord on the planet after taking over the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, or Jalisco New Generation cartel.

The Chicago meeting also led to the announcement that US and Mexican security forces will undertake a series of joint initiatives against El Mencho and his criminal enterprise.

The Jalisco New Generation cartel has overtaken El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel as the dominant underworld force in Mexico, the DEA claimed during the meeting, establishing dozens of drug routes across the US, Europe, and Asia.

Rosalinda González Valencia (pictured) was arrested last May after Mexican authorities accused her of acting as the Jalisco New Generation cartel's chief accountant

El Chapo's arrest two years ago created a power vacuum where rival drug figures battled it out to claim the incarcerated gangster's cocaine kingdom.

El Chapo was extradited late last year to the US where his federal trial on murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking is expected to begin in November.

Although the Sinaloa cartel is still functioning, under the leadership of El Chapo's former partner Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, a 70-year-old diabetic recluse whose grip on power may be slipping, the organization is a shell of its former self.

'If you look at El Mayo, most of his family is in jail in the US.' said Craine. 'He is increasingly isolated.'

To make matters worse, deadly infighting has thrown the cartel into chaos, leaving El Mencho's organization to take advantage and surpass the Sinaloa cartel in profits, according to The Post.

And while the Sinaloa cartel struggles to regain its footing in the drug game, El Mencho has been able to produce 'multi-hundred kilogram quantities of methamphetamine and heroin, and traffics in multi-ton quantities of cocaine.'

El Mencho also has thousands of loyal foot soldiers, described as well-trained hitmen armed to the teeth with assault rifles.

El Mencho also has thousands of loyal foot soldiers (pictured), described as well-trained hitmen armed to the teeth with assault rifles

El Chapo was extradited late last year to the US where his federal trial on murder, money laundering, and drug trafficking is expected to begin in November

'Unlike the other cartels, they function like a paramilitary organization,' Craine told The Post. 'They are like an iron hand taking control of Jalisco, and have set up carjackings and roadblocks to show their power.'

Cervantes has had a long and notorious criminal career. In 2015, he allegedly ordered a large paramilitary attack against Mexican security forces in the state of Jalisco.

The operation led to the firebombing of gas stations and banks. Cartel members also successfully shot down a military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, killing nine soldiers.

Before taking over the organization, Cervantes was a small-time drug dealer who got a job with the Jalisco state police force in the early 1990s. He later joined the Milenio Cartel and married Rosalinda González Valencia, the sister of a leader inside the group.

Valencia was arrested last May after Mexican authorities accused her of acting as the Jalisco New Generation cartel's chief accountant.

Mexico's crackdown on drug cartels, launched 12 years ago, has already led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people with another 30,000 going missing during that time.

'I have no doubt that El Mencho will be caught, but the violence won't end until the Mexican government gets serious about strengthening the rule of law and ending corruption,' Craine said.

A combined $6.5 million bounty has been placed on Cervantes's head by the US and Mexico.