The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, is one of the “most powerful and ruthless criminal organizations” in Mexico, according to the DEA’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment.
The organization was led by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, killed during a military operation in the country on Sunday (22), he was known as a feared Mexican drug trafficker, accused of orchestrating the smuggling of fentanyl into the United States.
The CJNG has become the most powerful cartel in Mexico since the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, king of the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to the DEA, the CJNG emerged in the 2010s from the remnants of the Milenio Cartel, which fragmented amid a power vacuum following the capture of its leader, Óscar Nava Valencia, in 2009.
The rapidly expanding cartel has expanded its sphere of influence, gaining a significant presence throughout Mexico and becoming a key player in global drug trafficking.
It is a brutally violent organization, responsible for assassination attempts against Mexican government officials and homicides against rival drug trafficking groups and Mexican police, according to the US State Department.
The cartel demonstrated its military power in May 2015, when it responded to a security operation with simultaneous blockades in several municipalities and shot down a military helicopter. Three soldiers died in the clashes.
The following year, the group was blamed for the audacious kidnapping of El Chapo’s son from a trendy restaurant in Puerto Vallarta. He was released a week later
Cartel influence
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration alleges that the cartel “operates under a franchise business model,” which allows it to expand rapidly and control large areas of drug trafficking routes.
According to US authorities, the organization is “heavily involved in the production and trafficking of methamphetamine and fentanyl”, accusing the CJNG of having ties to chemical suppliers in China.
“Jalisco exercises control over several seaports to import these chemicals and has an extensive network of smuggling routes,” says the agency’s website.
According to the US State Department, in addition to China, the group has contacts in more than 40 countries, including the Americas, as well as Australia and Southeast Asia.
Mexico had been under pressure from American President Donald Trump to intensify efforts to combat the flow of drugs into the United States.
The US designated the CJNG as a terrorist organization in February 2025, and “El Mencho” has previously been indicted multiple times in the United States, including an indictment in 2022 for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl for importation into the United States.
The death of the cartel leader on Sunday (22) sparked a wave of protests, with alleged gang members setting fire to buses and commercial establishments, as well as clashing with security forces. More than 250 blockages have been reported in 20 Mexican states, according to Mexico’s Security Cabinet, and most have since been removed.
However, the death of “EL Mencho” will not necessarily paralyze the CJNG’s billion-dollar drug trade.
The DEA states that the gang is structured as a franchise company and, according to Eduardo Guerrero, director of the Mexican consultancy group Lantia Intelligence, it is made up of around 90 organizations. According to the agency, CJNG affiliates operate in almost all 50 American states.
“This fragmentation means that a more complex and sophisticated strategy will be needed to weaken and dismember it,” Guerrero told CNN earlier this year.
The Mexican military and police, with the support of US intelligence and equipment, have tried to eliminate kingpins before. But others emerged to take their place, and tons of drugs continued to cross the US border.
The United States Drug Enforcement Agency says the cartel is increasing its involvement in non-drug activities. These include gasoline theft, extortion, human trafficking and real estate schemes — including timeshare fraud — for money laundering purposes.
With information from CNN International
