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Reward Offered for a Violent Drug Trafficker
The United States continues to target individuals and organizations who profit from the production, trafficking and sale of illegal narcotics.
On December 1, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward offer of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, a high-level member of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice identified CJNG as “one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico” and “one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that CJNG traffics a significant proportion of the fentanyl and other deadly drugs that enter the United States. CJNG also uses extreme violence against rivals and Mexican authorities to expand and maintain territory in strategic drug trafficking corridors.
In the decade since its founding in 2011, CJNG has grown rapidly in size, strength and influence. The extremely violent cartel is a global entity with a significant presence not only throughout the United States and Mexico, but also in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
37-year-old, U.S.-born Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez is the stepson of the cartel’s leader, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera-Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho.” El Mencho himself is the subject of a U.S. government reward offer of up to $10 million= for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Valencia Gonzales is responsible for manufacturing, transporting, and distributing enormous quantities of narcotics, as well as organizing numerous violent crimes. During a press conference in July 2020, Mexican Secretary of Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval Gonzalez also identified Valencia Gonzalez as one of the leaders of the cartel's armed wing known as Grupo Elite.
The$5 million reward offer coincides with an indictment of Valencia Gonzalez announced by the Department of Justice on December 1. These actions are part of a U.S. whole-of-government approach to combat drug trafficking and transnational organized crime both globally and specifically against cartels in Mexico.
On October 8, the United States and Mexico convened a High-Level Security Dialogue and signed a Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities to ensure collaboration on law enforcement efforts and protect vulnerable communities. The reward is offered under the State Department Narcotics Rewards Program in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Information on Valencia Gonzalez can be sent to +1-213-237-9990 or by email at MenchoTips@dea.gov.
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