The United States government is offering a total of $94 million for information leading to the capture of the last 15 major drug traffickers still operating in Mexico.
The list is headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), for whom the State Department has placed a $15 million reward, the highest for any of the Mexican targets.
According to US authorities, the CJNG was formed in 2009 and is currently considered the cartel with the greatest capacity for trafficking cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in Mexico. In recent years, it has also expanded into fentanyl trafficking to the United States.
“Under the leadership of (Nemesio) Oseguera Cervantes, the CJNG has been responsible for numerous homicides against rival drug trafficking groups and Mexican law enforcement officers,” the State Department report states.
“Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges him with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States, as well as the use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses.”
High reward for El Chapo’s sons
After El Mencho, the highest rewards are offered for information leading to the capture of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s sons: Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, “El Chapito,” and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, “Alfredito,” who lead a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as Juan José Farías Álvarez, “El Abuelo,” head of Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán.
For each of these three For information leading to the arrest of these individuals, U.S. authorities are offering up to $10 million.
El Chapo Guzmán’s sons are identified as one of the main fentanyl traffickers. The Treasury Department has sanctioned the Los Chapitos faction and business networks in Sinaloa, accusing them of drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and money laundering.
The DEA maintains that Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo are fugitives, wanted for conspiracy and other federal charges related to drugs and weapons.
More than an heir, Iván Archivaldo is considered a key figure in the operation, capable of sustaining criminal structures despite operational setbacks.
In addition to Sinaloa, El Chapito has networks operating in Sonora, Baja California, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero, the State of Mexico, Mexico City, and in southeastern states such as Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
Meanwhile, El Abuelo is identified as the leader of Cárteles Unidos, which began as an alliance of smaller cartels in Michoacán to prevent the incursion of larger cartels.
“Members of Cárteles Unidos and their associates are involved in the large-scale production of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the Michoacán territory they control.
“Cocaine is acquired in Colombia and then shipped to the United States using some of the same transportation routes used to ship methamphetamine and fentanyl to the United States,” states the U.S. document.
Last year, the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Cárteles Unidos were designated as Specially Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. These cartels control routes, financial networks, and armed wings, making their dismantling a priority on the binational security agenda.
