WASHINGTON — In a major blow to Mexico’s notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a U.S. federal court on Friday sentenced José González Valencia, a top ally of cartel boss “El Mencho”, to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors say González Valencia, 49 — known as “Chepa” — played a central role in the cartel’s global cocaine trafficking empire.
Captured in 2017 while vacationing in Brazil under a false identity, González Valencia led the “Los Cuinis” criminal faction alongside his brothers.
The group financed CJNG’s operations, leveraging a range of trafficking tactics — including semi-submersibles and frozen shark carcasses — to move vast quantities of cocaine across the Americas.
Ties to CJNG Royalty
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González Valencia is the brother-in-law of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, CJNG’s elusive and violent kingpin, who remains one of the most wanted men in the world.
His group, CJNG, was recently designated a foreign terrorist organization under the Trump administration — a move that opened the door to enhanced prosecution tools for U.S. authorities.
In the same courtroom just hours earlier, Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, another of El Mencho’s sons-in-law, pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy. He had been hiding in California under a fake identity after faking his own death to evade Mexican authorities.
He’s accused of kidnapping two Mexican Navy officers in 2021 in an attempt to secure the release of El Mencho’s wife.
CJNG Faces Escalating U.S. Pressure
The Justice Department is intensifying efforts to dismantle CJNG, a cartel responsible for funneling massive quantities of cocaine, meth, and fentanyl into the U.S.
“You can’t totally prosecute your way out of the cartel problem, but you can make an actual impact,” said Matthew Galeotti, head of the DOJ’s criminal division. “This is a division-wide approach.”
The Trump administration’s crackdown has already seen several cartel figures extradited, including Rafael Caro Quintero, the infamous drug lord linked to the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
González Valencia pleaded guilty in 2022 to international cocaine trafficking, admitting to financing massive drug shipments — including a 4,000-kilogram load moved by semi-submersible vessel from Colombia to Guatemala. Prosecutors also accuse him of orchestrating a rival’s killing.
During sentencing, part of the hearing was sealed, and González Valencia’s lawyer declined to comment.
Cartel Family Faces U.S. Justice
“El Mencho’s” criminal network is being systematically targeted:
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Rubén “El Menchito” Oseguera, El Mencho’s son, was sentenced to life in prison in March for leading drug shipments into the U.S.
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Gutiérrez Ochoa, the son-in-law, is awaiting sentencing on money laundering and conspiracy charges.
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The U.S. has several sealed indictments in progress against CJNG and related groups.
Galeotti noted that prosecutors are increasingly focusing not just on traffickers but also on financial facilitators and the cartel’s money-laundering infrastructure.
As for “El Mencho” himself — he remains at large. But with allies and relatives falling one by one in courtrooms across the U.S., authorities say it’s only a matter of time.