After ‘El Mencho’s’ Death, Who Will Lead the CJNG Cartel?

Guadalajara, Mexico — With the killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” by federal forces in Tapalpa, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is left without a leader. Potential successors to lead Mexico’s most powerful criminal organization are likely to come from his inner circle.

Juan Carlos Valencia González, “El Tres”

Juan Carlos Valencia González, also known as “El Tres” or “El Bimbo,” has close ties to El Mencho as his stepson and holds a senior position in the cartel. According to federal reports, he wields significant influence in the cartel’s operations in southeastern Jalisco, particularly in the municipalities of Mazamitla, Jilotlán de los Dolores, and Tecalitlán.

In 2022, El Tres was involved in a conflict with Los Pájaros Sierra, a CJNG splinter group fighting for control of territory along the Michoacán border. Documents also indicate he oversees operations in Colima with help from Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, Oseguera Cervantes’ son-in-law.

In December 2021, the U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, identifying him as a high-level member of the CJNG structure.

Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán, “El Sapo”

One of the cartel’s highest-ranking commanders, “El Sapo” maintains strong presence in western Jalisco’s Sierra region alongside Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela, alias “El Colombiano” or “La Firma.” His influence extends through the municipalities of Puerto Vallarta, Atenguillo, Cabo Corrientes, Talpa de Allende, Mascota, and San Sebastián del Oeste, according to federal reports.

He commands the Elite Immediate Reaction Group, one of the cartel’s armed wings. Both Mendoza Gaytán and Rivera Varela have been identified by U.S. authorities as suspected participants in the 2020 murder of former Governor Aristóteles Sandoval and the attempted assassination of Omar García Harfuch when he was Mexico City’s Secretary of Citizen Security.

El Sapo’s network has also been linked to timeshare fraud operations from Puerto Vallarta. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified him as responsible for operations at Rancho Izaguirre in Teuchitlán, where he reportedly ordered training for new recruits and executions of those who disobeyed orders.

Audias Flores Silva, “El Jardinero”

According to federal sources, this drug trafficker controls CJNG operations in the municipalities of El Arenal, Magdalena, Tequila, Amatitán, San Marcos, Etzatlán, and Hostotipaquillo, with additional influence extending to Zacatecas and Nayarit.

His main activities involve drug production and distribution, but he also leads extortion and kidnapping operations. The U.S. State Department stated that El Jardinero had a close relationship with El Mencho and attributed to him the operation of clandestine airstrips used for drug trafficking, as well as using trucks to transport cocaine from Central America to Mexico and distribution cells in California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Washington, and Virginia.

He is also identified as a leader of timeshare fraud operations in Nayarit, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to his arrest. Recently, he was attributed ownership of a vessel destroyed by U.S. military forces.

Francisco Gudino Haro, “La Gallina”

His involvement in the cartel has been linked to drug laboratories and fentanyl distribution, but La Gallina is also identified as one of the highest-ranking capos within the CJNG structure.

In June 2020, Mexican and U.S. authorities launched Operation Blue Agave, which involved blocking bank accounts of 1,939 individuals and entities linked to the criminal group led by El Mencho. Though identities weren’t made public, Gudino Haro was among those whose assets were frozen. The following year, La Gallina obtained a court injunction to unfreeze one of the accounts.

In March 2021, however, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit applied a new freeze and identified La Gallina as another suspected participant in the murder of former Governor Aristóteles Sandoval and the attack against Harfuch. These financial measures stemmed from sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control against companies and individuals linked to the CJNG.

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, “El RR”

El RR’s origins trace to the El Retiro neighborhood in Guadalajara, where he began his rise in the criminal organization until being identified by the federal government as the CJNG’s regional leader in Aguascalientes, Michoacán, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, and Ixtlahuacán del Río, Jalisco.

In that last municipality, military forces deployed an operation in August 2022 while El RR was meeting with another capo, Gerardo González Ramírez, “El Apá.” The attempted arrest of CJNG members triggered the burning of vehicles and businesses in Jalisco and Guanajuato. Residents reported that Ruiz Velasco fled to the hills.

OFAC linked Ruiz Velasco to the cartel’s special forces and identified him as responsible for public communications and propaganda. The agency also identified him as the prime suspect in the murder of influencer Valeria Márquez, though local authorities have denied having information about the case.