Mexico without convictions against Cartel Jalisco New Generation-CJNG

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat From Milenio

Over the past year, the PGR has obtained the highest number of sentences against members of the Sinaloa Cartel, with 15, followed by those belonging to the Zetas and La Familia Michoacana, with 13 each.

Government announced the arrest of El Mencho;s wife, but organized crime charges were dropped.

Although the governments of Mexico and the United States have identified the Cartel Jalisco New Generation, CJNG, as the most powerful in the world of drug trafficking, the Attorney General’s Office [PGR] failed to obtain a single conviction during the last year against any of its members or leaders.

This includes Rosalinda González Valencia, wife of supreme leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. Rosalinda was arrested last May and charged with organized crime and money laundering.

Rosalinda was released on bail last week, after a judge ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to bring a conviction for organized crime.  She still faces money laundering charges, a lesser crime that qualified her for bail.

She is reportedly the “financial brain” of the cartel that supports La Union Tepito in the sale of drugs in Mexico City.  La Union is suspected of being responsible for an attack Friday night at Plaza Garibaldi, known for Mariachi music.  The sicarios were dressed as Mariachis as they killed 5 and wounded 5.

 Menchito, Mencho's son
is imprisoned in Oaxaca since 2015 

Between September 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, the PGR successfully obtained sentences against 378 criminals including 82 who were members of organized crime groups, according to the Organized Crime Investigation Unit (Seido).

Still, not one of those convictions included a leader or member of CJNG.

In fact, going back to the period between June 2016 and September 2017, the PGR obtained just seven sentences against CJNG members or just 5% of the total number of prosecutions against drug cartel members.

Meanwhile, the governments of both Mexico and the United States last month increased  the rewards offered for “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, to a combined amount of  $6.6 million USD.

The CJNG was founded in 2009 but over the past three years has expanded its influence to become Mexico’s most dominant cartel, putting the organization in direct confrontation with rival gangs throughout the country, creating violence over territory.

Highlighted high profile violent events, included in 2018, so far,  are the torture and murder of three film students in Guadalajara, an attack on state Labor Secretary Luis Carlos Nájera, also in the Jalisco state capital, and the disappearance of three Italian citizens in Tecalitlán.

Although  authorities have failed  in convictions and sentences  against CJNG members, it has a better record with members of other high-profile criminal organizations, however record levels of violent crime indicate that the federal security strategy hasn’t been successful.

Over the past year, the PGR has obtained the highest number of sentences against members of the Sinaloa Cartel, with 15, followed by those belonging to the Zetas and La Familia Michoacana, with 13 each.

The former supreme leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was extradited to the United States in January 2017 and is currently awaiting trial set for November.  Last week his son Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar was added to the DEA’s 10 most wanted list.

Also in the 10-month period of 2018, the PGR obtained convictions and sentences against six members of the Gulf Cartel, four members of Los Caballeros Templarios and one member each of the Juárez Cartel and the criminal gang known as La Línea.