Overview
- Multiple outlets, citing U.S. and Mexican officials and the Wall Street Journal, report that Juan Carlos Valencia González has assumed de facto control of the CJNG after El Mencho’s Feb. 22 killing in Jalisco.
- Valencia González, born in Santa Ana, California, has been linked to leading the cartel’s Grupo Élite/Delta armed cells and is described by Mexico’s FGR as extremely violent.
- He faces U.S. federal indictments filed in Washington, D.C., and the State Department offers up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest under cases pursued by DEA task forces.
- His U.S. citizenship forces stricter surveillance rules, requiring attorney general approval and FISA court authorization, even as Mexico rejects foreign military operations despite past CIA intelligence support in the Mencho raid.
- U.S. Northern Command chief Gen. Gregory Guillot told Congress that cartels have threatened U.S. troops on the border since Mencho’s death, while reporting indicates Valencia has worked to contain internal rivals and prevent broader reprisals.