CJNG Map & Profile 2026: After El Mencho’s Death, New Leader, Territory and U.S. Charges

What official records and reporting say about the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG): who leads it, where it is reported to operate, and how the U.S. has targeted it. Territory and leadership change fast, so each item links to its source and shows dates as reported. Allegations are as stated by the source; people who are charged are presumed innocent until convicted.

All cartel profiles

Names and aliases

• U.S. federal notices list the organization as Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, New Generation Cartel of Jalisco, CJNG, and Jalisco New Generation Cartel. [U.S. Department of State (via NewsMexico mirror), 2025-02-20 · official record]
• El Mencho's full name is given as Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes. [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]

Origins

• Treasury describes CJNG as having formed about 15 years before its July 2026 action, placing its formation around 2011. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• El Mencho was convicted in 1994 in a U.S. federal court in Northern California for conspiracy to distribute heroin and served nearly three years in prison before returning to Mexico. [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• The group initially worked under the Sinaloa Cartel before the alliance fractured into a lasting rivalry. [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]

Leadership

• Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as 'El Mencho,' co-founded and led CJNG until his death on February 22, 2026. (as of 2026-09-30) [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• El Mencho died after a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco; he was a former police officer. (as of 2026-09-30) [CNN, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, known as 'El 03' and 'Pelon,' was identified in court filings as El Mencho's successor. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• The U.S. reward for Valencia Gonzalez's capture was increased to $25 million. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Ruben 'El Menchito' Oseguera Gonzalez, CJNG's second-in-command for nearly seven years, was sentenced to life plus 30 years on March 7, 2025, with over $6 billion in forfeiture. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of Justice, 2025-06-01 · official record]
• Antonio Oseguera and Erick Valencia entered U.S. custody on February 27, 2025, among 29 cartel figures transferred. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of Justice, 2025-06-01 · official record]
• Audias Flores Silva was arrested in Mexico in April 2026; a reward of up to $15 million is offered for his conviction. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Eight CJNG fugitives carried combined U.S. rewards exceeding $100 million. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Rewards were set at $15 million for Mendoza Gaytan and Castillo Rodriguez, $10 million for Montero Pinzon, Rivera Varela, and Ruiz Velasco, and $2 million for Arredondo Pinzon. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Erik Valencia Salazar, known as 'El 85,' co-founded CJNG with El Mencho. (as of 2026-09-30) [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• Treasury (July 2026) identifies Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a.k.a. 'Pelon' and also known as Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, as the new leader of CJNG, a dual Mexican-U.S. national who rose after the death of his stepfather El Mencho; he previously led an armed wing engaged in significant violence and is charged in a U.S. federal drug trafficking indictment in the District of Columbia. (as of 2026-07-23) [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• Court filings allege Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, El Mencho's former son-in-law, oversaw CJNG operations in Colima, collected drug proceeds, paid for precursor chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine, purchased tonnage quantities of methamphetamine from CJNG suppliers, and oversaw transportation of cocaine and methamphetamine shipments for importation into the United States. (as of 2026-08-05) [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]

Factions and splits

• Los Cuinis financed CJNG's founding and growth, and the two organizations are described as closely allied. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Department of Justice, 2025-06-01 · official record]
• The Grupo Elite is described as the cartel's alleged enforcement arm. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]

Allies and rivals

• CJNG and Sinaloa sometimes shared precursor-chemical suppliers despite their rivalry. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-16 · news/research]
• Los Chapitos formed a reported tactical alliance with CJNG against the Mayiza faction, with CJNG providing weapons and operational support. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-09-09 · news/research]
• InSight Crime describes CJNG as the Sinaloa Cartel's main rival. (as of 2026-09-30) [InSight Crime, 2026-07-16 · news/research]

What it does

• Treasury attributes fuel theft and timeshare fraud to CJNG's criminal portfolio. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• Treasury describes CJNG carrying out assassinations of government officials and rivals alongside widespread bribery of Mexican officials. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• CJNG traffics cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States. [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• The Justice Department charged El Mencho in 2022 with leading fentanyl manufacture and distribution. [CNN, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• Officially attributed activities include drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and intimidation. [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Money laundering used real estate, shell companies, and international transfers. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2025-06-01 · official record]
• Mexico's attorney general linked the Teuchitlan ranch operation and training site to CJNG. [SRN News (Reuters), 2025-04-29 · news/research]
• The cartel pioneered the use of explosive-carrying drones and landmines. [TBS News, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• Treasury describes plaza bosses subordinate to Jardinero — Jose Octaviano Garcia Martinez (plaza boss for Florencia, Zacatecas), Cuauhtemoc Rivera Zepeda and Uriel Hernandez Morales — as producing large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Jalisco and Zacatecas and running distribution networks that transport narcotics to U.S. cities. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• A professional money laundering network of seven individuals based in the CJNG heartland of Zapopan and Guadalajara coordinated the collection of bulk cash narcotics proceeds from multiple U.S. cities, transferred the funds back to Mexico via financial instruments, and returned the money to cartel owners, laundering tens of millions of dollars per year since at least 2023. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• Treasury targeted a CJNG-linked cocaine network led by twin brothers Marcial Apolinar Diaz Robles and Pedro Marcial Diaz Robles of Guadalajara, who used close ties to CJNG's inner circle to move large cocaine shipments from South America to Mexico and onward to the United States and Europe; Guadalajara businessman Jorge Zepeda Rodriguez allegedly paid them millions for access to Mexican ports. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• Feliciano Ledezma Ramirez, a.k.a. 'Chano Limones,' traffics fentanyl to the United States and has been involved in significant violence in Nuevo Italia and Mugica, Michoacan; Alma Laura Mena Alvarado and her husband Jose Mora Leon own a logistics company Treasury says diverts liquid fentanyl to CJNG, and control Strong Energy S.A. de C.V. and Transic Logistic S.A. de C.V.; Mena also extracts and steals gasoline in a CJNG-controlled area. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]

U.S. designations, sanctions and charges

• On April 8, 2015, OFAC designated CJNG and its founder El Mencho under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• On December 15, 2021, OFAC designated CJNG and El Mencho under Executive Order 14059. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• On June 18, 2025, OFAC designated El Mencho under Executive Order 13224, as amended. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• On February 20, 2025, the State Department designated CJNG as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-22 · official record]
• The State Department's Narcotics Reward Program offered up to $5 million for information leading to Gonzalez's arrest as of the July 2026 Treasury action; on August 5, 2026 the reward was raised to $25 million, part of $102 million in rewards across eight CJNG fugitives. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• The unsealed indictments allege the five defendants participated for over a decade in conspiracies to manufacture and distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl destined for the United States, and used, carried, brandished or discharged firearms — including semi-automatic weapons, machineguns and destructive devices — during the drug trafficking crimes; the charges were filed in the District of Columbia and each defendant faces up to two consecutive life prison terms if convicted. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• Alongside the August 5, 2026 indictments, the State Department announced rewards of up to $15 million each for Mendoza Gaytan and Castillo Rodriguez, and up to $10 million each for Montero Pinzon, Rivera Varela and Ruiz Velasco — part of $102 million in rewards for the capture and conviction of eight CJNG leaders and fugitives. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• On July 23, 2026, OFAC sanctioned over 50 Mexican individuals and entities linked to CJNG under E.O. 14059 and E.O. 13224, describing it as its largest-ever action targeting CJNG — aimed at the cartel's leadership, drug trafficking cells and illicit finance networks across multiple Mexican states. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• Since April 2015, OFAC has designated over 250 individuals and entities linked to CJNG, including senior operatives, complicit family members, front persons, attorneys, accountants and corrupt officials, plus entities such as resorts, shopping centers, real estate companies, restaurants, agricultural companies and shell companies. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• The July 2026 action was built on multiple coordinated Homeland Security Task Force investigations involving the FBI, HSI, DEA and other agencies, and was coordinated with Mexico's financial intelligence unit (Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera); OFAC says it has taken nearly 30 actions against about 250 individuals and entities under this effort. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]
• On June 30, 2026, OFAC sanctioned two Mexican nationals and nine entities under E.O. 14059 and E.O. 13224 over a CJNG-linked fuel theft and cross-border fuel smuggling operation, while FinCEN issued a supplemental alert with updated typologies and red flags on Mexican fuel tax evasion schemes. [SRN News (AP), 2026-06-30 · news/research]
• On August 13, 2025, OFAC re-designated Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (a.k.a. 'El Tarjetas'), Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (a.k.a. 'La Firma') and Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (a.k.a. 'La Gallina') as part of CJNG's leadership. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2026-07-23 · official record]

Key events

• On 22 February 2026, Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (El Mencho), founder and leader of CJNG, in a Mexican-led operation supported by complementary U.S. information. [Stanford University (Freeman Spogli Institute), 2026-02-01 · news/research]
• Within hours of El Mencho's death, more than 370 violent incidents erupted in 25 states, including narcoblockades, arson, and ambushes that killed at least 25 officers. [Stanford University (Freeman Spogli Institute), 2026-02-01 · news/research]
• Violence and road blockades spread to multiple states after the Tapalpa operation, disrupting airports and highways. [CNN, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• Mexico's security minister said evidence indicated the Teuchitlan ranch was a training site, not an extermination camp. [SRN News (Reuters), 2025-03-25 · news/research]
• On August 5, 2026, the Justice Department unsealed indictments charging five alleged high-ranking CJNG leaders — Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan, Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon and Carlos Andres Rivera Varela — with drug trafficking and firearms offenses tied to cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl destined for the United States; none were in U.S. custody. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• The State Department also imposed new visa restrictions on dozens of people believed to be associates of CJNG members as part of the August 5, 2026 pressure campaign. [Coastal ABC, 2026-08-05 · news/research]
• Prosecutors obtained a superseding indictment (filed fall 2025) charging two of the newly indicted men — alongside Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon — in a CJNG timeshare fraud scheme that often targeted elderly Americans who paid upfront 'taxes' and 'fees' for promised timeshare sales or rentals but never received the money. [Coastal ABC, 2026-08-05 · news/research]
• On February 22, 2026, El Mencho was wounded in a clash with Mexican Army Special Forces in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and died while being flown to Mexico City; Mexico's Defense Ministry said U.S. authorities provided 'complementary information,' and a U.S. defense official confirmed an interagency U.S. task force 'played a role' in the operation. [CNN, 2026-02-22 · news/research]
• The August 5, 2026 indictments and rewards are part of the NCC Homeland Security Task Force initiative to counter narco-terrorist cartels; investigations involved the DEA, FBI, HSI, IRS-CI, CBP and the National Coordination Center. [IRS Criminal Investigation, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• In September 2025, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York charged Arredondo Pinzon with providing financial support to CJNG. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• An October 2025 superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York charged Montero Pinzon and Rivera Varela with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, alongside wire fraud tied to the timeshare scheme. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• The Justice Department states El Mencho was 'killed during a Mexican military operation' in February 2026. [U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]

Where it operates in Mexico

• In 2020 the group was described as having under its control 25 of Mexico's 32 states. (as of 2026-09-30) [The Mazatlan Post, 2020-06-03 · news/research]
• Homeland Security Today described CJNG as the only cartel in Mexico with a presence in all 32 Mexican states. (as of 2026-09-30) [Homeland Security Today, 2026-03-01 · news/research]
• The cartel has corrupt access to the ports of Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas on the Pacific and can also reach Veracruz and Matamoros on the Gulf. (as of 2026-09-30) [Homeland Security Today, 2026-03-01 · news/research]
• The DEA acknowledged the CJNG's presence in 21 of Mexico's 32 states, surpassing the Sinaloa Cartel, which is estimated to operate in 19 states. (as of 2026-06-30) [SRN News (AP), 2026-06-30 · news/research]

Reported U.S. footprint

• HSI investigations targeted CJNG networks in Arizona and the Carolinas. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• U.S. officials attribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin distribution within the United States to CJNG figures. (as of 2026-09-30) [IRS Criminal Investigation / U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-08-05 · official record]
• DEA's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment named Sinaloa and CJNG among the dominant trafficking threats to the United States. (as of 2026-09-30) [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (mirrored by Cannabis Law Report), 2025-05-15 · official record]

Reported presence by Mexican state

Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in the United States

The DEA’s 2025 threat assessment says the group’s associates operate in almost all 50 U.S. states. [Small Wars Journal (summary of DEA NDTA 2025), 2025-05-18 · news/research]

States with specific evidence: California, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas, United States, Virginia, Washington.

Federal cases since 2024 whose release names the group: 39.

Cartels in the U.S.: map and state-by-state evidence →

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Read every Narco Blog story about the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) →

Last reviewed: September 30, 2026. Territory, leadership and advisories change; tell us about errors via our corrections page.