At the site of the assassination attempt against Garca Harfuch in Mexico Citys tony Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood, the police recovered Barrett semiautomatic rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. [9] Some sources state that his birth-given name was Rubn but that he changed it to Nemesio in memory of his godfather. After his escape, the U.S. took its manhunt public. Initial reports stated that El Mencho was captured in the operation, but the Mexican government later confirmed that he was not in custody. In the absence of conclusive testimony from suspected attackers, the question of why the cartel would attempt such a high-profile killing remains unanswered. Two months after his arrest, his first child was born. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Spanish: Crtel de Jalisco Nueva Generacin) or CJNG, formerly known as Los Mata Zetas, is a Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco which is headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), one of the world's most-wanted drug lords. From the shadows, he continues to lead CJNG with ruthless authority. [53][56], On 27 September 2011, Mexico's Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR) issued an arrest warrant for El Mencho and offered MXN$2million for anyone who can help provide information that leads to his arrest. She got her older sister, a struggling single mom, involved to make quick money. This sanction was a result of another investigation done by the Treasury and the DEA office in Los Angeles. 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. He briefly worked as a police officer in Tomatln, a small town in Jalisco, learningthe inner workings of law enforcement,said DEA Special Agent Kyle Mori, who is heading the U.S. criminal investigationagainstEl Mencho fromLos Angeles. [16] It was in this criminal group where El Mencho would become a leading figure in organized crime. A war ensued, and the two groups fought for the drug smuggling turfs in Jalisco. 2023 Ciudad Jurez prison attack - owly.wiki For example, a Lexington waitress seekingcash to pay fordental assistant courses ended up making bank deposits that she didnt know were for CJNG, according to court transcripts. [69] The businesses were a sushi restaurant in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, a tequila company in Guadalajara,[e] a rental cabin business in Tapalpa, and an advertising firm and agricultural company, both in Guadalajara. The cartel exploits its connections with otherwise hard-working immigrants, said Dan Dodds, who leads DEA operations in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. We believe that we are very far from achieving the goal of reducing the flow of weapons that nurture organized crime and that generate violence in our country, said a senior Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly about the issue. It was an arrangement that allowed for rapid growth; rather than building a trafficking infrastructure, it co-opted and reshaped an existing one. CJNG's plan tomove intosmall-town America and cashin on the country's addiction crisis played out in Lexington, Kentucky. On 1 January 2023, a gang stormed a prison in Ciudad Jurez, Chihuahua, Mexico, resulting in the deaths of 19 people. cuartoscuro shares The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) operates in Mexico City and 27 states,. The prosecution insisted that both siblings were working together. In 2013, Mexican authorities accused him of murder in Michoacn. [18] Los Mata Zetas eventually won the war and consolidated their influence in western Mexico. August 1, 2022, 10:49am. His defense understood that if he decided on a jury trial, they would likely win the case. In September 2011, the emerging cartel left 35 corpses on a street in the heart of. The unparalleled speed of CJNGs growth coasttocoast in less than a decade has made the cartel a clear, present and growing danger, says Uttam Dhillon, DEA's acting administrator. It also operated a tequila label,casinos,two shopping centers,a medical clinic,real estate companies and a Pacific Ocean resort frequented by Americans, according to U.S. Treasury Department records. [30], On 25 August 2012, a unit of the Mexican Federal Police based in Tonaya, Jalisco, responded to an anonymous tip stating that there was an organized crime cell present in a rural community close by. Parra Pedroza and Pineda Sanchez received 13 and 15 years, respectively, in prison after both pleaded guilty to money laundering. They got "Shorty," but Mexican authorities are dragging their feet on the fate of another 150 jailed drug traffickers awaiting extradition to the United States, a federal source told The Post. In a Chicago money-laundering case, a Guadalajara businessman working with CJNG urged an informant to settle his drug debt quickly, describing how cartel members settled another mans debt: "They chopped off his fingers.". Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG) - InSight Crime Last year was the deadliest in Mexicos recent history, with 35,588 homicides. El Mencho is allegedly responsible for coordinating global drug trafficking operations. 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. [25], In 2019 Kyle Mori, the head of the DEA team tasked with locating El Mencho, stated in an interview with Univision that he believed El Mencho had a net worth of at least $500 million and he could also be worth over $1 billion. The drug cartel fought back against the Mexican army in the states of Jalisco and Guanajuato, blocking roads and setting fires to cars. But someCJNGbossesdidnt follow those rules. [34], In a series of highly coordinated tactics to prevent El Mencho's arrest, the CJNG blocked several highways and roads across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area by setting at least 37 vehicles on fire. I've implanted you a fee which you must pay. Analysts blame much of the killing on turf wars between the Jalisco cartel and its rivals as it expands into new territory. Security officials in the United States have been frustrated with the Mexican governments lack of a coherent strategy against the Jalisco cartel and the hampering of anti-drug operations by persistent corruption. Mexican cartel urges that innocents be kept out of drug war in video Obviously, we shouldnt accept one group or the other, Corts Zavala said. Pullup the seat. [28], El Mencho was able to make the CJNG one of Mexico's most profitable criminal gangs. Decatur, IL (62521) Today. [96] At the time of this arrest, El Mencho's wife was found to be financial chief of the CJNG.[97]. The DEA's Donahue said many were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins. Those who refuse bribesare threatened or killed. According to Courier-Journal, Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez will plead guilty to a felony charge for helping the Jalisco cartel, as cited by documents filed in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.. ABC7 Chicago reported that federal authorities had . But federal agents say CJNG was Kentuckys main supplier of fentanyl at the time of his death. 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. In 2009, the DEA detected that El Mencho was involved in another cocaine shipment originating from Ecuador. It has to do, without a doubt, with the work that is being carried out to guarantee peace and tranquility both in Mexico City and in the country, Lpez Obrador said. "If its coming from a cartel, they could have sold a pound to Asians, black guys, outlaw motorcycle gangs, white trash," said Lt. Jeremy Williams, of the Ashe County Sheriff's Office inNorth Carolina. Under Coronel, El Mencho and his group managed the Sinaloa Cartel's drug operations, finances, and murder activities in the states of Colima and Jalisco. He quickly amassed a privatearmy, with CJNG members recruitingor kidnappinghundreds of men in their 20s and boys as young as 12. MEXICO CITY Before they allegedly tried to assassinate this city's police chief, the foot soldiers of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel already had left a bloody wake across the country. According to border entry records, El Mencho crossed the U.S.-Mexico border several times during the late 1980s under other aliases. He was released from prison on several occasions for lack of evidence, but was re-arrested each time by the police for additional charges. Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes rules the ruthless Jalisco New Generation Cartel. In the hours after the attack, senior Mexican officials, including the mayor of Mexico City, refused to speculate on who might have been responsible. The killing was ordered after Rosales dissed JNGC leader Oseguera Cervantes a.k.a El Mencho on social media (GRAPHIC) He decided to plead guilty and protect his brother from life imprisonment. 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. The organization developed allegiances with smaller groups, sometimes solidified through marriages. Mexico has 150 drug traffickers awaiting extradition to US [26] Internationally, the CJNG reportedly has ties with criminal groups in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The direct attacks of the CJNG against Mexico's security forces earned El Mencho a reputation among authorities as "principal enemy" of the state and as a dangerous criminal. "If that takes them killing other cartels or killing innocent people, they will do it.". The DEA and Mexican investigators believe that it was during this time that he became involved in meth production and trade in Redwood City California (San Mateo County) alongside his brother-in-law Abigael Gonzlez Valencia (alias "El Cuini"). "[101] La Vaca was also reported to have defected from the CJNG because of El Mencho's death.[101]. Nemesio Rubn Oseguera Cervantes (American Spanish:[nemesio oseea seantes]; born 17 July 1966 or 17 July 1964), commonly referred to by his alias El Mencho ([el mento]), is a Mexican drug lord and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), an organized crime group based in Jalisco. Mexico's Most Dangerous Cartel Makes Plea To Enemies After - UNILAD "my name is PABLO OSEGUERA member carte Jalisco New Generation and pimp of the domestic sexual service house I've been calling you cause you've been speaking to one of my girls which offered you her service and you only made her lose her time. The cartel emerged in 2010, first as an ally of the Sinaloa cartel of Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, and then, by 2013, as an independent organization trafficking drugs through some of Mexicos central and western states. They also contacted more than two dozen accused cartel members or CJNG associates in prison and traveled to Mexico City, Guadalajara and 15 U.S. cities to see firsthand the far-reaching repercussions of El Menchos cartel. "I know Im not that person," he said, refusing to elaborate. American daughter of Mexico's fugitive cartel leader pleads guilty Pineda Penaloza and his crew were convicted of drug trafficking and are now in federal prison. Treasury Department officials stood with Sessions and announced more sanctions on businesses linked to CJNG and its affiliate, Los Cuinis. Somewhere deep in Mexico's remote wilderness, the worlds most dangerous and wanted drug lord is hiding. 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. Throughout the process, El Mencho established himself as one of Mexico's most-wanted criminals. Omar Garca Harfuch, Mexico Citys secretary of public security, was shot and injured in an assassination attempt on June 26. [28] The government estimates that El Mencho's group has about US$50billion in total assets. El Menchos drug empire "is putting poison on the streets of the U.S.," said Chris Evans, who runs the DEAs day-to-day global operations. 2:35. [35] The purpose of the burning vehicles was to place them as blockades to impede the security forces from traveling across Jalisco's capital and giving El Mencho ample time to escape. How a Mexican cartel turned a rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, One mistake trapped a desperate dad in a Mexican drug cartel's web. It hauled inmore than 3 kilos of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid so potent that an amount as small as Abraham Lincoln's cheek on a pennycan be fatal. As before, all of the U.S.-based assets of these businesses were frozen, and U.S. citizens were prohibited from doing business with them. The sanction extended to the CJNG, his brother-in-law Abigael Gonzlez Valencia, and Los Cuinis. Through a wiretap conversation, the police overheard El Mencho warning his brother to never do business with them again since they were undercover cops. In addition, the fall of Mexico's former top crime bosses cleared the way for El Mencho to gain visibility and status. [17][18], One sect within the Milenio Cartel wanted to appoint as the leader of the group Elpidio Mojarro Ramrez (alias "El Pilo"), who worked closely with scar Orlando and Juan Carlos before their arrests. Post navigation. And court records detail how the cartel lures those who need money to serve as drug or cash couriers or money launderers. They also uncovered a second cocaine shipment from Colombia, Mexico, to the United States. ", "Top Mexican drug kingpin El Mencho reportedly builds own private hospital", "Betrayals, In-Fighting, Mysteriously Vanished Leader - Is Jalisco Cartel on the Brink? [17][22], To legitimize its presence, El Mencho's group launched a propaganda campaign against its enemies, denouncing extortions done by rival gangs against civilians, businessmen, and government authorities. Early Monday morning, a video began circulating on social media in which a man claiming to be Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the head of Mexico's notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel,. [14] He had five brothers: Juan, Miguel, Antonio, Marn, and Abraham. ", "Thats kind of hard to believe, but its true.". Mexican cartel borrows Middle East terrorists' brutal tactics CJNG is "among us. To build their lucrativedrug networks in the U.S., CJNG bosses mandated discretion to dodge police attention. [78], Marn was accused in a California court, but the charges are not available to the public. Mexican security forces say they have arrested one of the leaders of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel. [92], In April 2019, El Mencho's godson Adrin Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and kidnapping. The teenager sneaked into the U.S. and triedto build a customer base as a street-level dealer. Betrayal led to the drug ring'scollapse. most wanted drug dealers in arizona - stmatthewsbc.org [50][51] He usually travels across the mountains and rural terrains in these areas since it provides multiple escape routes in the event that security forces attempt to encircle him. Jalisco cartel now has presence in 28 states: US Congress The army said it captured Antonio . Sometimes the authorities and media try to build these guys up as criminal masterminds, but thats not whats going on, Hope said. Two weeks before Garca Harfuch was targeted in an attack on his convoy, gunmen killed a well-known federal judge, Uriel Villegas Ortiz, and his wife, Vernica Barajas, in the state of Colima. US, Mexico Sanctions Offer Insights Into CJNG Hierarchy The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. August 4, 2022 CJNG sicarios posed with their faces uncovered in a series of 2021 photos.