Soldiers from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and elements of the National Guard (GN) arrested 37 alleged members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) in the municipality of Hidalgo, Michoacán.
The alleged elements of the CJNG were surprised by federal forces this morning when they were sleeping. The uniformed officers seized 35 weapons, both long and short, and thousands of useful cartridges, in a camp. The illegal shelter was also destroyed, which is located in the community called “El Caracol”.
Sources from the Ministry of Public Security (SSP) confirmed the raid against organized crime. The 37 detainees are being guarded by soldiers, who will make them available to the Attorney General’s Office.
Under strict security measures, the detainees will be transferred to the delegation of the Prosecutor’s Office in Morelia. The Jalisco Cartel has kept the population of the eastern region of the state devastated.
During the last few months, they have committed multiple crimes in the municipalities of Ciudad Hidalgo, Tuxpan, and Zitácuaro.
The US sanctions the ‘Chocho’ member of the CJNG for money laundering
The US Department of the Treasury sanctioned a Mexican in February of this year for laundering money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and extorting businesses in Puerto Vallarta, to obtain money that he gave to the cartel.
Sergio Armando Orozco Rodríguez, alias “Chocho”, facilitated illicit activities from Puerto Vallarta for the violent cartel that the United States accuses of trafficking fentanyl and other drugs.
All of Orozco Rodríguez’s assets in the United States were confiscated and any person’s transactions with the Mexican’s assets or businesses were prohibited.
According to the Treasury Department statement, Orozco Rodríguez made businesses in Puerto Vallarta pay a tax for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and new businesses that wanted to open in the city had to ask for permission to start operating. Orozco Rodríguez had relationships with multiple restaurants, bars, and nightclubs in Puerto Vallarta, the statement added.
The sanctions are the result of collaboration between the Treasury Department, the US drug enforcement agency, and the Mexican government. According to the statement, Orozco Rodríguez resides in Puerto Vallarta.
The origins and evolution of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel
Today one of the most important criminal organizations in Mexico is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Despite the capture of some of its main leaders, the group seems to continue to expand. They are known for their aggressive use of violence and their public relations campaign.
With the capture of Rosalinda González Valencia, wife of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, ‘El Mencho’, leader of the CJNG, the pages of the national and international press were once again filled with information about this criminal organization, which according to the Department of Justice of the United States, is “the most dangerous in the world”.
“The CJNG is one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico and the Department of Justice considers it one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world, responsible for the trafficking of many tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin with fentanyl to the United States, as well as well as for the violence and the significant loss of life in Mexico”, according to the Department of Justice in the United States.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) emerged after former Sinaloa Cartel boss Ignacio Coronel, alias “Nacho”, was shot down by Mexican security forces in July 2010. Before his death, Coronel gave orders to Óscar Orlando Nava Valencia, alias ‘El Lobo’, head of the Millennium Cartel, who was also captured at that time.
In the power vacuum left by the death of ‘Nacho’ Coronel and the capture of ‘El Lobo’, the organization split into two factions: La Resistencia and Los Torcidos. The two groups clashed for control of drug trafficking in Jalisco, and Los Torcidos became what is now known as the CJNG, emerging as the successors to the Sinaloan drug lord’s network in the region.
“Founded in 2011, the CJNG has grown rapidly in size and strength since its inception. Today, the DEA estimates that the CJNG exerts influence in 23 of 31 (75 percent) of Mexican states, including key drug production and transportation corridors,” according to a Justice Department report.
“As a result of the organization’s disciplined command and control, sophisticated money laundering techniques, efficient drug transportation routes, and extreme violence. The cartel has also expanded globally, with a significant presence and illicit business not only in the United States and Mexico but also in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Nemesio Oseguera Ramos, alias ‘El Mencho’, is considered the leader and founder of the CJNG, and remains free. His original partners were Erick Valencia, alias ‘El 85′, and Martín Arzola Ortega, alias ‘El 53′, both former members of the Milenio Cartel.
Rubén Oseguera González, also known as ‘El Menchito’, was second in charge within the organization until the time of his arrest by Mexican authorities in June 2015. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on charges of drug trafficking and use of firearms related to their criminal activities.
There is also Abigael González Valencia, another former member of the Milenio Cartel, brother-in-law of El Mencho, and leader of the criminal organization Los Cuinis, who allegedly helped finance the rise of the CJNG. He was arrested in Puerto Vallarta in 2015 and is still waiting for extradition to the United States.
The efforts that have resulted in more than 600 arrests illustrate the significant reach that the CJNG has over the production, importation, and distribution of a wide range of illegal narcotics into the United States, as well as the negative impact on the fabric of local communities.
The CJNG is also known for targeting Mexican society through idealistic propaganda, referencing solidarity, and promising to get rid of other criminal groups operating in its territories, such as Los Zetas and the Knights Templar.
The Mexican authorities have attacked the finances of the CJNG. In June 2020, some 2,000 bank accounts related to the group were frozen. Still, the organization has held its own and has shown no signs of containing its expansion. High-impact attacks have shown the extent of the weaponry the group possesses, as well as their level of sophistication.
Soldiers from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) and elements of the National Guard (GN) arrested 37 alleged members of the Jalisco Nueva Generaci . . .
