The bullet that ended the criminal career of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” in the mountains of Tapalpa, Jalisco, this past Sunday, February 22, didn’t just kill a man. With him also fell the command structure that sustained the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) for more than a decade, the criminal organization that the DEA considers one of the most violent and powerful in the hemisphere. The question that immediately arises in the intelligence offices of Mexico and the United States is a single one: who will fill the void?
The answer is not simple. Unlike what happened in the Sinaloa Cartel after the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, where his sons—the so-called Chapitos—took command with relative ease, the CJNG lacks a consolidated successor.
Oseguera Cervantes’ eldest son, Rubén Oseguera González, known as “El Menchito,” was extradited to the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment. This dynastic vacuum is now being contested by at least five figures within the criminal organization’s leadership.
The name that appears most frequently in court records and intelligence reports is that of Juan Carlos Valencia González, alias “El 03,” “El R3,” or “El Plumas.” Oseguera Cervantes’ stepson and the son of Rosalinda González Valencia—known within the organization as “La Jefa” and a key figure in the clan’s financial network—Valencia González has occupied the third rung of the cartel’s hierarchy for years, a position his numerical alias betrays.
His power is not based solely on lineage. “El 03” is credited with creating and leading the Elite Group, the CJNG’s most tactical armed wing, responsible for targeted killings, incursions into rival territories, and control of disputed areas. Documents leaked through the hack known as Guacamaya Leaks and reviewed by Mexican media place Valencia González in charge of the southeastern region of Jalisco, with influence extending as far as Colima.
