Around the same time, a rival criminal group known as Los Zetas, with the backing of the Gulf Cartel, carried out an armed offensive against the Milenio Cartel in Michoacn. There, he built a thriving drug trafficking business, but the city's dominantcartel ordered him to leave when leaders became threatened by his success. The bizarre request of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel came as the government gave its version of a violent massacre caught on a video that went viral. And court records detail how the cartel lures those who need money to serve as drug or cash couriers or money launderers. In September 1992, he was arrested again, this time on federal drug charges in Sacramento, California. [88] He was later released in December 2016. Throughout 2019, reporters analyzed thousands of court records of more than 100 criminal drug cases around the country and talked to more than 150 federal drug agents, police officers, defense attorneys and prosecutors. [71] According to the report, the diversity of these businesses showed that the CJNG was successful at penetrating the economy. American daughter of Mexico's fugitive cartel leader facing up to 30 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to doing business with his Jalisco New Generation Cartel He's a recluse, a cockfighting high-roller, a former cop and a maniac. In Jalisco, El Mencho and the Milenio Cartel formed an alliance with the Sinaloa Cartel subgroup headed by Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, a high-ranking drug lord and ally of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn. Two of his bodyguards were killed. But federal agents say CJNG was Kentuckys main supplier of fentanyl at the time of his death. Through a wiretap conversation, the police overheard El Mencho warning his brother to never do business with them again since they were undercover cops. [78], Marn was accused in a California court, but the charges are not available to the public. The cartel circulates these images of torture and execution on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to spread fear and intimidation. This year, despite the novel coronavirus, the violence has continued near record highs. In December 2022, El Mencho's brother Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Tony Montana," was arrested during an army raid in Guadalajara. "I promise, you will hear more about El Mencho.". It is known for its aggressive use of violence and its public relations campaigns. Since then, several Mexican officials, including the governor of the western state of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramrez, and the head of the countrys human rights commission, Rosario Piedra Ibarra, have said that they received death threats from the cartel. She got her older sister, a struggling single mom, involved to make quick money. [95], In November 2021, Rosalinda, known as "La Jefa," was arrested in Jalisco's Zapopan municipality. In the absence of conclusive testimony from suspected attackers, the question of why the cartel would attempt such a high-profile killing remains unanswered. 20 Dec 2022 0. They also uncovered a second cocaine shipment from Colombia, Mexico, to the United States. RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A new text scam left a Raleigh man terrified after he received texts that claimed to be from the cartel threatening his family with personal information and extremely. It was an arrangement that allowed for rapid growth; rather than building a trafficking infrastructure, it co-opted and reshaped an existing one. [67], On 8 April 2015, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned El Mencho under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("Kingpin Act") for his involvement in international drug-smuggling operations. We have all had a drug consumption problem," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his protection. While some moves targeted the cartels finances, others were more personal. [28], El Mencho was able to make the CJNG one of Mexico's most profitable criminal gangs. Histestimony helped convict a trafficker connected to CJNG in 2014. The army said it captured Antonio . ", Most Wanted Fugitive: Nemesio Oseguera-Cervantes, Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars, El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, Manhunt of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn (20012014), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nemesio_Oseguera_Cervantes&oldid=1141357243, Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges, People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 17:24. The strategy: Make it illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business. He dropped out of sixth grade to helphis family pickavocados. [89], In May 2018, El Mencho's wife Rosalinda was arrested on money laundering charges. [80], Rosalinda Gonzlez Valencia is the wife of El Mencho. "I still expected that they would be in markets in the Southwest, a little bit into some of the other major corridors, such as Atlanta and Chicago, Evans said. The cartel alsorecruitsspies in theMexicangovernment and policeto keep its leaders out of jail and avoid drug busts. [27] This success was shared with Abigael Gonzlez Valencia, his brother-in-law, who headed a drug trafficking group known as Los Cuinis, allied to the CJNG. Leave a Comment. [53] In 2000, the U.S. government discovered that El Mencho was involved in a cocaine and methamphetamine operation internationally. As the security forces moved to the area where El Mencho was allegedly hiding, a gunfight broke out between law enforcement officials and gunmen of the CJNG. [28] The government estimates that El Mencho's group has about US$50billion in total assets. He was not a millionaire," Beaumont said. [18] Los Mata Zetas eventually won the war and consolidated their influence in western Mexico. "I know Im not that person," he said, refusing to elaborate. [10][14] According to court records, El Mencho and his brother Abraham were at a San Francisco bar known as Imperial to carry out a heroin deal: five ounces for US$9,500. [3] The claim of his death was soon afterwards backed by narcomantas messages which appeared around the city of Colima and which were written by the Mezcales (also known as Cartel Independiente de Colima), presumably headed by El Mencho loyalist Jos Bernab Brizuela Meraz, alias La Vaca. Alderete also is accused of asking a criminal informant in Paducahfor assault rifles andagrenade launcherto supplya cartel "war" in Mexico,saidJesseRiddle, the Narcotics Unit captain with the McCracken County Sheriffs Office in Paducah. In court, El Mencho insisted that he was innocent. They believe he does not stay in one place for long, and travels across several municipalities in Jalisco and into the states of Michoacn, Colima, and Nayarit. December 1, 2021 Today, the U.S. Department of State is announcing a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, an alleged high-level member of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG - Jalisco New Generation Cartel). [10][11] He is widely known by his alias "El Mencho", a nickname that derives from the phonetic derivation of Nemesio. [54], In 2007, the DEA discovered that El Mencho was involved in a cocaine operation that went through Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and ended in the United States. Somewhere deep in Mexico's remote wilderness, the worlds most dangerous and wanted drug lord is hiding. [86] He reportedly works as one of his top security chiefs. [74] They also have formed a rivalry with El Mencho and the CJNG as well. In the 1990s, Abraham was given a 10-year prison sentence in California. Macias found success following the cartel's three-pronged business model: Macias recruited Brizeida Janett Sosa, the mother of his youngest child, to help organize themoney laundering scheme, court records would later show. CJNG members have followed relatives or friends who left Mexico for the U.S. to find jobs. Maciasand Sosa were convicted of meth trafficking and money laundering and are serving 31 and 15 years, respectively, in federal prison. The Jalisco cartel's violence has taken a horrific toll on the state and experts say it poses a threat to Mexico's government Skip to main content Skip to navigation Subscribe [39] On 30 March, CJNG gunmen in Zapopan, Jalisco, ambushed a convoy containing Alejandro Solorio Archiga, Jalisco's security commissioner. [65], On 16 October 2018, the Departments of State, Justice, and Treasury announced a joint law-enforcement measure against the CJNG, and increased El Mencho's bounty to US$10million from US$5million. [14] He had five brothers: Juan, Miguel, Antonio, Marn, and Abraham. "Our community is paying a steep price," said Carlos Guevara, a senior policy adviser for UnidosUS, Americas largest Latino civil rights organization. Many are committed by cartels. Juan was charged in Michoacn for burglary, but the case was later dismissed. Smaller towns. This short film details The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG and its leader, El Mencho, began in early 2019 and what was uncovered. His second security circle is much larger in size and serves as a rearguard to notify El Mencho's inner circle of suspicious activity and ambush potential parties that attempt to get close to him. . Brenda and Karl Cooley of Louisville certainly didnt know his name when their son Adam overdosed on fentanyl in March 2017. Immigrants, some fleeing criminal violence themselves, can be victimized by cartels on both sides of the border and unfairly targeted by U.S. political rhetoric or perceptions stoked by cartel crime. In 2009, the DEA detected that El Mencho was involved in another cocaine shipment originating from Ecuador. The organization developed allegiances with smaller groups, sometimes solidified through marriages. Mexico's Defense Ministry arrested Antonio Oseguera, brother of Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) leader Nemesio Oseguera, alias 'El Mencho', this Tuesday at 5:20 a.m. (local. "I was surprised that CJNGs efforts and tentacles were reaching into Kentucky, that they had expanded their reach that rapidly, said Evans, who previously headed the Louisville Field Division. He was released from prison on several occasions for lack of evidence, but was re-arrested each time by the police for additional charges. The information leaks make catching El Mencho extremely difficult, he said. This sanction was also result of another investigation done by the Treasury and the DEA office in Los Angeles. According to border entry records, El Mencho crossed the U.S.-Mexico border several times during the late 1980s under other aliases. February 27, 2023 new bill passed in nj for inmates 2022 No Comments . Sometimes the authorities and media try to build these guys up as criminal masterminds, but thats not whats going on, Hope said. Passed over for promotion, ElMenchoteamed withhis in-laws who ran an affiliatedcartel and forged his own criminal organizationin early 2011 CJNG. As a young adult, he and his older brother, Abraham Oseguera Cervantes,sold heroin to two undercover police officers at a San Francisco bar in 1992 and were sent to federal prison on drug trafficking charges. Corts Zavala, who is the citys top security official, spoke a week after gunmen targeted a drug rehabilitation facility in his city, killing 28 people. Its extreme savagery in Mexico includes beheadings, public hangings, acid baths, even cannibalism. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has killed judges, congressmen, dozens of police officers and thousands of civilians. . [21], The Milenio Cartel split into two. Closethe air vents. Macias' associate, Imanol Pineda Penaloza, headed a cell in Louisville while running his drug business through his used tire shop, Los 3 Hermanos. [17] The blockades were placed in strategic routes to prevent police reinforcements to come in or leave Guadalajara. [47][48] The battle extended throughout several municipalities in Jalisco; El Mencho's men blockaded several roads across the Guadalajara area to slow down the mobilization of law enforcement and facilitate their leader's escape. One side was known as La Resistencia( The Resistance), the other was Los Mata Zetas(The Zeta Killers), headed by El Mencho. In Illinois,the cartel teamed with Vice Lordsgang members to grow a drug network that stretched from Southern California through the Midwest and into Nashville and Paducah, Kentuckyknown for its riverwalk murals and the National QuiltMuseum. Two months after his arrest, his first child was born. 1 killer. Through corruption and intimidation, CJNG has thrived, even as it found additional ways to make money. [82][83] El Mencho's son Rubn was regarded by the Mexican government as the second-in-command in the CJNG prior to his arrest in 2014. Are you on Telegram? [17][18], El Mencho relocated in the state capital, Guadalajara, with his father-in-law Jos Luis Gonzlez Valencia (alias "El Quini") and Romn Caballero Valencia. El Mencho then asked the other Milenio bloc to hand over Gerardo Mendoza (alias "Tecato" and/or "Cochi") for killing a group of men that reported to him in Tecomn, Colima. Even after El Mencho's girlfriend went to prison, the cartel quickly returned to the Gulf Coast with more loads of drugs. Obviously, we shouldnt accept one group or the other, Corts Zavala said. The CJNG went from being a small, offshoot criminal gang to one of the leading criminal groups in Mexico. [101], In February 2022, there were unconfirmed reports stating that El Mencho had died from respiratory arrest while undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Guadalajara. CJNGs rapid rise heralds the latest chapter in a generations-old drug war in which Mexican cartels are battling to supply Americans insatiable demand for narcotics. CJNGs increased distribution of fentanyl across the country has helped the synthetic opioid unseat heroin as the nations No. [9] Some sources state that his birth-given name was Rubn but that he changed it to Nemesio in memory of his godfather. The killing was ordered after Rosales dissed JNGC leader Oseguera Cervantes a.k.a El Mencho on social media (GRAPHIC) During a brief telephonecallfrom prison in August 2019,Palomerasaid heis a family manwhonever harmed anyone. Both are now in prison for money laundering, and her sister, who has two children living in Kentucky, faces deportation. In Guanajuato and elsewhere, President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has debated how to respond to the cartels expansion and the surging violence it has brought. Beth Warren. . In mid-October, 13 Mexican police officers were killed in an ambush in El Mencho's home state of Michoacn in western Mexico. While Luis Alderete maintains his innocence,court records show that his brother, Roberto Alderete, identified Luis asa cartel lieutenant. Cartel members fired hundreds of rounds and hurled grenades and jugs of gasoline. 8 The charges were later dropped and the case was closed. Further details Roberto Alderete revealed about CJNG remain hidden in sealed documents. He was deported to Mexico several months later, but re-entered the U.S. and resettled in San Francisco. Adam died midsentence while writing a thank-you note to a friend on the eve of entering a rehab facility. Its much more an ecosystem than it is a vertically integrated organization, said Alejandro Hope, a security analyst who writes a well-known column in Mexicos El Universal newspaper. [14], Three weeks after the incident both men were arrested by the police. A powerful and aggressive Mexican cartel appears to have made a plea to its enemies following hundreds of deaths in the country. [66] This increase was one of the largest approved in the history of the Narcotics Rewards Program. Following their downfalls, the Milenio Cartel began to rupture and El Mencho tried to take over its leadership structure. Officials in Attorney General William Barr's office declined to comment on The Courier Journal's findings. Eleven months after the Lexington raid, a SWAT team crept in the darkness and blasted off the front door of the tire shop owner's house in Louisville. He was released on July 1 for lack of evidence, but was re-arrested again on April 6 2016, for his involvement in the CJNG. El Mencho and his cartel, with more than 5,000 members worldwide, have a clear-cut objective: "They want to control the entire drug market," said Matthew Donahue, who oversees foreign operations for the DEA. "How a Mississippi trooper almost took down the world's most powerful cartel boss". Antonio lived in the U.S. and was released from a Mississippi prison in 2001 after completing his sentence for property damage charges. [43] That same day, Miguel ngel Caicedo Vargas, the police chief of Zacoalco de Torres, was killed by CJNG hitmen. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has become Mexico's most powerful criminal organization, dominating the trade in fentanyl and methamphetamines and protecting its business by attacking Mexican . [10][17], Their operational capacity in Mexico is concentrated in 8 states: Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato, Nayarit, and Veracruz, where it holds a firm grip of drug trafficking operations, and Morelos, Guerrero and Michoacn, where it fights competing rival drug groups. A veteran Jalisco police officer, whoasked not to be identified for his safety, said CJNG has officials on its payroll at thelocal, state and federal levels. These attacks brought him increased government attention and an extensive manhunt. The teenager sneaked into the U.S. and triedto build a customer base as a street-level dealer. La Resistencia accused Los Mata Zetas of turning in scar Orlando to the authorities. cuartoscuro shares The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in Mexico City and 27 states,. All their U.S.-based assets were frozen, and once again U.S. citizens were prohibited from doing business with them. But thats the kind of dynamic weve seen in other cities in Mexico.. U.S. drug agents believe he's in western Mexico, hiding in remote jungles or mountains of Jalisco, Colima or Michocan. The U.S government has crippled dozens ofbusinessesthat supported CJNGandsentElMenchosson and chief financial backer to prison, along with members of his inner circle. Some analysts think that El Mencho, thought to be hiding in the mountains of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan, is sick with a liver problem and that the attack might have been a show of force from someone trying to ascend through the cartels ranks. She recruited helpers, too, and they frequently made deposits of less than $10,000 amounts small enough to dodge federal reporting requirements at bank branches in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee,as well asGreensboro and Winston-Salem,North Carolina.
