US Announces Rewards and Charges Against Jalisco New Generation Cartel Leaders

The United States government has announced rewards totaling up to $102 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of eight leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The largest individual bounty, $25 million, is offered for Juan Carlos Valencia González, also known as El Pelón, who is identified as the new leader of the organization. Valencia González is a dual Mexican and US citizen and the stepson of the former leader, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.

In a related move, the US Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against five alleged high ranking members of the CJNG. These individuals include Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, the former son in law of Oseguera, and Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan, Oseguera's godson, both of whom are accused of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamines into the United States. Other charged individuals are Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon, and Carlos Andres Rivera Varela. None of the five defendants are currently in US custody. Additionally, the US State Department and Justice Department announced visa restrictions on 65 individuals accused of having business or family ties to cartel members.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the bounties as a continuation of efforts to eliminate cartels that have plagued the US. These actions follow the death of El Mencho in a February military raid in Talpapa, Jalisco, which resulted in at least 73 deaths. The Trump administration has increasingly labeled criminal organizations in Latin America as foreign terrorist organizations to justify a more militarized approach to national security.

Outlets with a center left lean framed these developments as part of a hardline national security agenda that includes pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and hints of potential US military action in Mexico. Outlets with a center right lean focused on the scale of the rewards, noting that the bounty for Valencia González is comparable to those once offered for Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.