WThe Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG formerly known as Los Mata Zetas and Los Torcidos is a semi-militarized Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco and headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. Although the CJNG is particularly known for diversifying into various types of criminal rackets, drug trafficking as well as stealing crude oil remains among their most profitable criminal activities. As of 2020, the CJNG is generally considered by the Mexican Government to be the most dangerous criminal organization in Mexico and the second most powerful drug cartel in the country after Cartel de Sinaloa. The CJNG are currently fighting La Nueva Plaza cartel for control of the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco; Los Viagras for the state of Michoacán; Los Zetas for the city of Puebla; the Cartel de Sinaloa in Tijuana, Baja California and Zacatecas; the Cartel de Juarez in Ciudad Juarez; and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel in Guanajuato. The CJNG also operates in the states of Nayarit and Colima. While this cartel is best known for its fights against the Zetas, it has also been battling La Resistencia for control of Jalisco and its surrounding territories.
WMartín Arzola Ortega, commonly referred to by his alias "El 53", was a Mexican convicted drug lord and former high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He worked under Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the alleged top leader of the CJNG. Arzola Ortega began his criminal career in 1998 as a cargo truck thief and eventually joined the Milenio Cartel, the predecessor group of the CJNG. After several of his bosses were arrested and/or killed, he founded the CJNG with other defectors in the 2010s.
WJulio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, commonly referred to by his alias Ojo de Vidrio, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is the son-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the CJNG and one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. He was reportedly responsible for managing money laundering schemes for the CJNG.
WAbigael González Valencia, commonly referred to by his alias El Cuini, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He was also the head of Los Cuinis, an organization allied to the CJNG. Along with his brother-in-law Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of Mexico's most-wanted men, González Valencia reportedly coordinated international drug trafficking operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He was also responsible for managing the financial operations of the CJNG and Los Cuinis.
WElvis González Valencia, commonly referred to by his alias El Elvis, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and Los Cuinis, two allied criminal groups based in Jalisco. He was reportedly responsible for managing international drug trafficking operations and money laundering schemes under his brother Abigael González Valencia and brother-in-law Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
WGerardo González Valencia is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is part of a clan that heads a CJNG money laundering branch known as Los Cuinis. He was allegedly responsible for coordinating international money laundering schemes by using shell companies to purchase assets in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. His wife Wendy Dalaithy Amaral Arévalo was reportedly working with him on this large money laundering scheme when the couple moved from Mexico to Uruguay in 2011.
WJosé González Valencia is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is part of a clan that heads a CJNG money laundering branch known as Los Cuinis. Since 2015, González Valencia reportedly held a leading role within the CJNG as the security chief of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the top leader of the criminal group. Security forces in the U.S. and Mexico suspect he was also responsible for coordinating drug trafficking operations from Mexico to the U.S., Asia, and Europe.
WRosalinda González Valencia is a Mexican businesswoman and suspected money launderer of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. She is married to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico's most-wanted man and the CJNG leader. Born in rural Michoacán, Rosalinda grew up in a family of 18 siblings and was the eldest of her sisters. Her family originally grew avocados, but eventually turned to cultivating marijuana and opium poppy. In the 1970s, her family formed the Milenio Cartel, the predecessor group of the CJNG, and began trafficking narcotics from Mexico to the United States.
WHotelito Desconocido was a Mexican boutique hotel and ecotourism resort in the municipality of Tomatlán, Jalisco. Formed in 1995 by an Italian architect, Hotelito Desconocido used an architectural style of that combined both rustic and luxurious designs. It was built on an UNESCO-designated natural reserve that was home to a number of endangered bird and turtle species. The hotel won international and domestic awards for its unique architecture and sustainable energy model, and it was a famous getaway spot for international tourists and celebrities. Its construction, however, created tensions with a local group of fishermen that protested against the alleged ecological violations caused by Hotelito Desconocido's construction and expansions.
WOn 1 May 2015, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) carried out a series of attacks in Jalisco, Mexico, and four adjacent states to prevent the capture of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, their suspected leader. The operation began early that morning in Villa Purificación, where four Mexican Air Force and Federal Police (PF) helicopters spotted a CJNG convoy protecting El Mencho. As one of the helicopters flew over the convoy, the CJNG members shot it down using rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers. Nine law enforcement officers died as a result of the attack, and multiple others were wounded. This was the first incident in the Mexican Drug War in which organized crime groups shot down an aircraft.
WJorge Luis Mendoza Cárdenas, commonly referred to by his alias La Garra, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. Security forces suspect that La Garra heads the drug trafficking operations for the CJNG in the United States under Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the top leader of the criminal group. La Garra reportedly coordinates marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine shipments to Los Angeles, San Jose, Atlanta, and New York City from Mexico.
WOn 19 March 2015, a convoy of the National Gendarmerie, a subdivision of the Mexican Federal Police (PF), was ambushed by gunmen of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco, Mexico. The attack occurred in a residential neighborhood in Ocotlán, Jalisco. Five policemen, four CJNG gunmen, and two civilian bystanders were killed. According to police reports, as the PF convoy pulled up next to a parked vehicle, gunmen shot at them from the vehicle and from rooftops. The police attempted to shield themselves using their patrol cars, but reinforcements from the CJNG arrived at the scene and overwhelmed them. The shootout lasted between thirty minutes to two hours before the CJNG fled the scene.
WAntonio Oseguera Cervantes is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. His brother is Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the CJNG and one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. In Mexico, he was formally charged in 2015 for drug trafficking and being in possession of military-exclusive firearms.
WNemesio Oseguera Cervantes, commonly referred to by his alias El Mencho, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is the most-wanted criminal in Mexico and one of the most-wanted in the U.S. Both governments are offering up to MXN$30 million and US$10 million, respectively, for information that leads to his arrest.
WRubén Oseguera González, commonly referred to by his alias El Menchito, is a U.S.-born Mexican suspected drug lord and former high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is the son of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico's most-wanted man. Under his father, he allegedly worked as the CJNG's second-in-command and managed international drug trafficking operations. Oseguera González was first arrested in January 2014 in Jalisco, but was released in October for lack of evidence and re-arrested immediately as he walked out of prison. He was then released again in December after a judge considered the evidence against him as insufficient. In June 2015, Oseguera González was arrested again, released a month later, and re-arrested as his release order was made official. His legal case has highlighted the growing tensions and deficiencies between prosecutors and judges in Mexico.
WOn 6 April 2015, a convoy of the Jalisco State Police was ambushed by suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. The attack occurred in a mountain road in San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco. Fifteen policemen were killed and five were wounded; no CJNG casualties were confirmed. According to police reports, as the police convoy reached a part of the road surrounded by mountains, the CJNG opened fire at the police units from the sides using high-caliber rifles, grenade launchers, and explosives with gasoline. The element of surprise prevented the police from repelling the aggression. The CJNG members burned several vehicles along the highway to halt reinforcements. The attack lasted roughly 30 minutes. When government reinforcements reached the scene, the CJNG gunmen had left.
WOn May 22, 2015, a three-hour shootout broke out between the Mexican Federal Police and alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Ecuandureo, Michoacán, leaving 43 dead. One of the fatalities was a Federal Police officer, while the others were suspected to be organized crime members. The confrontation started when the Federal Police spotted a suspicious vehicle on a highway in Tanhuato, Michoacán. The authorities had received information that one of the properties in the area had been overrun by criminals. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was in the area. When they tried to pull over the vehicle, however, the men onboard opened fire at the police units. A vehicle chase ensued and the security forces made their way into a large, rural property where the shootout intensified. The Federal Police then called for ground and air reinforcements and neutralized the situation.
WFederico Tobares, an Argentine chef working in Mexico, disappeared in 2013 in a suspected organized crime killing. Tobares was last seen around midday on 5 June 2013 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, after driving from Puerto Vallarta in the same state. He was last heard from half an hour later when he phoned a friend. His friend told investigators that Tobares had told her that he was delivering a car for his boss and was being guided, but was scared and did not know where he was. The car was found 2 weeks later in nearby Michoacán. Gerardo González Valencia, the owner of the restaurants where Tobares had been working, was later imprisoned for money laundering, and is accused of drug trafficking as a leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. No trace of Tobares has ever been found.
WÉrick Valencia Salazar, commonly referred to by his alias El 85, is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high ranking leader in the Nueva Plaza Cartel. He previously served as a high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. The Mexican Army suspects he was responsible for supervising the CJNG's cocaine and ephedrine delivery shipments from Colombia and China to Mexico, and for coordinating attacks against rival groups like La Resistencia and Los Zetas in the 2010s. Before leading the CJNG, El 85 reportedly held a leadership role within the Milenio Cartel, the predecessor group where the CJNG originated from. When several of his superiors were arrested and/or killed, El 85 and several others from the Milenio Cartel reportedly formed the CJNG.