U.S. Treasury authorities have applied sanctions to five leaders of Mexico’s notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted CJNG leader Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho,” and three of his top lieutenants, along with Ricardo Ruiz, a CJNG commander who has been implicated in high-profile murders in Mexico for more than a decade.
The OFAC announcement made reference to Ruiz being the leading suspect in the May 13 murder of influencer Valeria Márquez while she live-streamed a TikTok video.
In a press release, the OFAC announced that “all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons … that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.”
This designation also prohibits all transactions by persons from or within the United States that involve any property of the sanctioned individuals.
The CJNG is accused of producing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and other illicit drugs trafficked into the United States. The cartel also allegedly controls the deep-water port of Manzanillo in the western state of Colima, where it obtains fentanyl precursors and controls other drug trafficking operations through the port.
“CJNG’s reign of terror across Mexico and its trafficking of fentanyl into the United States has destroyed countless innocent lives,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press release.
The U.S. government is offering a reward of up to US $15 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Oseguera.
In addition to “El Mencho” and Ruiz, the OFAC designated Julio Alberto Castillo, Audias Flores and Gonzalo Mendoza as “blocked persons.”
Castillo is a senior CJNG member and Oseguera’s son-in-law and is regarded as a potential successor to “El Mencho.”
Flores is described as a CJNG regional commander in charge of producing meth in the states of Zacatecas, Guerrero, Nayarit, Jalisco and Michoacán. There is a US $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Flores.
Mendoza is known for prolific recruitment strategies, the OFAC alleges, and links him to the CJNG recruitment camp in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, known as Izaguirre Ranch. Mendoza has also been involved in the murder of numerous Mexican law enforcement officers.
