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CJNG Co-Founder Pleads Guilty in U.S. Cocaine Conspiracy

The plea underscores a joint U.S.–Mexico push to hold cartel leaders to account after CJNG was labeled a terrorist group.

Newspapers displayed for sale in Mexico City on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, one day after the Mexican military killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”
FILE: Soldiers escort Erick Valencia-Salazar, alias “El 85,” during his presentation to the press in Mexico City, Monday, March 12, 2012.
FILE - Soldiers stand guard over Erick Valencia Salazar, alias "El 85,", in Mexico City, March 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini, File)
Jalisco Fire

Overview

  • Erick Valencia-Salazar, 49, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for importation into the United States.
  • Sentencing is set for July 31, and he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life under federal law.
  • Prosecutors say Valencia-Salazar co-founded the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion with Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who was killed by the Mexican army in February.
  • U.S. officials said a grand jury indicted him in 2018, and Mexico transferred him to U.S. custody in February 2025 with help from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
  • The Justice Department and DEA describe CJNG as a violent trafficking network that shipped tons of cocaine into the U.S. and was designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.