The United States government announced a series of rewards for a total value of more than $100 million dollars for information leading to the capture of eight people whom it accuses of being leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in Mexico.
At a news conference Wednesday, officials from the Departments of Justice and State, as well as the directors of the FBI, DEA and other crime-fighting agencies, identified seven men and one woman as ringleaders of the organization.
All face accusations related to drug trafficking, use of weapons, money laundering and fraud.
Among the accused stands out Juan Carlos Valencia González, “Pelón”, whom the US government considers the successor of Nemesio Oseguera “El Mencho”, the founder and leader of the CJNG killed in a capture operation in February.
US authorities increased the reward for his capture from $15 million to $25 million, one of the highest figures ever offered for a drug trafficker and similar to those the US offered for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
The other seven defendants for whom up to $77 million is being offered globally are:
In the case of Flores Silva, who was captured by Mexican authorities in April, with his reward the US is asking for evidence that leads to his conviction.
“Now that these charges are public, and with more than $100 million in State Department rewards for the capture or conviction of eight CJNG fugitives, this administration will use every resource at its disposal to bring these defendants to justice, no matter where they are hiding,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
The announcement comes after several months in which the US has intensified pressure on Mexico to dismantle drug trafficking networks.
Washington has warned that it could act in Mexican territory if it does not obtain results in the fight against the organizations it has designated as "terrorists", including the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel and others.
Who are CJNG leaders designated by the US?
In this Wednesday's announcement, US authorities indicated that Valencia González assumed leadership of the CJNG after the death of “El Mencho” last February.
“Pelón”, 41, is the stepson of “El Mencho” and is accused of carrying out “numerous violent crimes as a leader of the CJNG, in addition to manufacturing, transporting and distributing large quantities of narcotics.”
In the US, he faces charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and use of firearms in his drug trafficking activities. DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said that today “he is one of the DEA's most wanted fugitives.”
In turn, Flores Silva was considered a “high-ranking member of the CJNG” until his capture in Mexico last April. In his case, the $15 million reward offered by the State Department is for information leading to his conviction. He has not yet been extradited to the US.
The investigations also point to Castillo Rodríguez, a former son-in-law of “El Mencho”, as responsible for CJNG operations, collecting profits from drug trafficking, paying for chemical precursors, purchasing large quantities of methamphetamine from the criminal group's suppliers and supervising the transportation of shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States.
The violent “Elite Group”
On the other hand, Montero Pinzón and Rivera Varela are accused of founding and directing the criminal cell called Grupo Elite, “a group of highly trained and heavily armed hitmen,” said the Department of Justice.
“The Elite Group acts as the execution arm of the CJNG to promote its drug trafficking operations, including the supervision of its territories and the murder of public officials and members of rival cartels,” the indictment states.
It is suspected that he has around 1,000 members in his service.
This group has also run “infamous training camps, where recruits learned the use of weapons, such as rocket launchers, .50-caliber machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as the use of violence and torture to achieve the CJNG's objectives.”
In the case of Mendoza Gaytán, who is identified as a godson of “El Mencho”, he is accused of being in charge of purchasing the CJNG's weapons, training hitmen and supervising operations, “including forced recruitment and the application of violence in multiple strategic locations of the CJNG.”
Ruiz Velasco is identified as a “close collaborator” of “El Mencho” and one of the leaders of the Elite Group who “supervised all CJNG operations in various Mexican territories,” as well as logistics and collections for drug trafficking in the United States.
Timeshare fraud
The only woman accused, Grasiela Arredondo Pinzón, is identified as Montero Pinzón's half-sister.
He and Rivera Varela are accused of running a timeshare property fraud scheme in Mexico in which US citizens were allegedly affected.
“Thousands of American victims have reported losses of hundreds of millions of dollars attributable to timeshare fraud schemes in Mexico,” said United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. of the Eastern District of New York.
“Increasingly, transnational criminal organizations like the CJNG finance their illicit operations not only through drug trafficking and other forms of street crime, but also through sophisticated fraud schemes,” he added.
In the most serious cases against Valencia González and Flores Silva, authorities hope to request up to two life sentences if they are prosecuted in the United States.
