The Freedom of the CJNG

Translated by El Profe for Borderland Beat from Zeta Tijuana

                                          

Direct family members and politicians close to Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" have been released during the last year, among them his wife, an in-law, and a son-in-law. Authorities boast of the capture of more than 30 cartel members, 15 of them ringleaders, during the same period. However, even with the reward increase of 30 million pesos, the CJNG leader cannot be located. 

Although during the last twelve months more than 15 important leaders in the organization chart of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) have been detained, including several relatives of the leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes "El Mencho", at least five other relevant operators have regained their freedom and possibly continue with their activities.

 

The number of captured has increased after Mexican authorities declared that, in the fight against drug trafficking, the Michoacán criminal group became the priority objective. This is the cartel with presence in 25 states, generator of violence in the states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Nayarit, Baja California, Quintana Roo, and Veracruz.

 

The CJNG is also considered a threat by the United States. According to the Drug Control Administration (DEA), the Mexican organization doubled its presence in that nation, as  in 2015 it had presence in eleven cities, but in 2014 it expanded to 14 more areas, where mainly methamphetamines from Guadalajara, Uruapan, and Culiacán are distributed.

 

While government entities report recurrently detention of members of the Jalisco cartel, judicial decisions handed down between October 2017 and September of this year gave back the freedom to the direct relatives and politicians of El "Mencho", who faced criminal proceedings for various offenses like organized crime, money laundering, and crimes against health.

The previously exonerated, or those who are now up for release, related to the leader of the CJNG, are: José Luis Gutiérrez Valencia "Don Chelo", murdered on December 4, 2017; Erick Valencia Salazar "El 85", co-leader and cousin; Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, son-in-law; Rosalinda González Valencia, wife; and Juan José Farías Álvarez "El Abuelo."

 

Both Rosalinda and "El Abuelo" -ex-leader of Michoacan self-defense groups in Tepalcatepec- were arrested in the current year, but their stay in prison was short-lived. The woman only remained imprisoned 103 days in the federal prison of maximum security of Coatlán del Río, Morelos and the former leader of one of the self-defense groups in the Tierra Caliente region barely lasted for the minimum time established by the constitutional (72 hours).

 

Before them, but in a period of less than two years, the alleged drug trafficker Elvis González Valencia, brother of Rosalinda, and Sergio Kurt Schmidt Sandoval, who was said to be a financial operator of the cartel and was passing as a businessman as well as being in charge of self-govrnment activities in the state prison of Puente Grande, Jalisco was also acquitted of charges

 

DESTINY: IMPUNITY

The first of the "big shots" to leave prison was José Luis Gutiérrez Valencia "Don Chelo", considered the leader of self-government in the Preventive Prison of Guadalajara and distinguished member of the CJNG for being Nemesio Oseguera's son's father-in-law. Also known as "El 7-7" or "El Ojo de Vidrio" he was nationally known for his appearance in the video of a narcofiesta held in prison. At the end of November, the Michoacáno was released. On December 4, he died in an alleged gun battle with the Navy in Tonalá.

At the end of 2017, in the last days of December, it was the first boss whose turn it was to be exonerated after his split from the Millenio Cartel: Erick Valencia Salazar "El 85", of the González Valencia family and willing to make up for lost time after his arrest in March 2012, when his capture led to the blocking of roads in the main avenues and the burning of buses and other vehicles. The verdict was "violations of due process and lack of evidence."

 

During those same days, the sentence was also ordered for the release of Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, brother-in-law of Rubén Oseguera González "El Menchito", with whom he was arrested in June 2016 in Zapopan, in possession of firearms and very small amounts of drugs.

 

Then, on May 30, a federal control judge decreed the release of the former leader of the self-defense groups of Michoacán, Juan José Farías "El Abuelo," on the grounds that the personnel of the Secretary of the Navy who participated in his capture "lied about the way the operation was performed. " Evidence presented by the defense of the subject ended up favoring him. The pressure of his community influenced the verdict of the courts.

 

The most recent case of a release in this group was that of Rosalinda González Valencia, who in the second instance was revoked of a bonding order for organized crime, while for the diverse operations with resources of illegal origin was set a bond greater than one million 500 thousand pesos. The wife of the "Mencho" was linked to a network of 73 companies in which she would have laundered more than one billion pesos, according to the Attorney General's Office (PGR).

 

Other members of the cartel did not receive their freedom, because they met their death; like Adrián Gómez Meza, 43, alleged accountant in the service of the illicit business of the organization. His body was found on July 11 in the gymnasium of the Preventive Prison Commissariat, formerly a Preventive Prison, in an apparent suicide. He was accused of supporting the CJNG in Puerto Vallarta and at the time of his arrest he was granted cartridges for firearms and some doses of drugs.
 
On the other hand, to Abigael González Valencia "El Cuini", a district judge granted a suspension of the requested act so that he will not be extradited to the United States until the procedures and remedies outlined in the Amparo Law are exhausted. "El Cuini" is designated by the Federal Government as number two of the CJNG and in the American Union has orders to be brought before a District Court in Chicago.
 
THE SEARCH FOR "MENCHO"
 
On August 14, the governments of Mexico and the United States redoubled their efforts to capture the leader of the CJNG, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, whose real name is Rubén. Among the actions that both nations agreed on to catch El "Mencho" was the increased reward amount from 2 to 30 million pesos, while in the US a compensation of more than 5 million dollars was established to whoever contributed data that allows for the location and capture of the Michoacáno.
 
According to authorities, the number of intentional homicides in Mexico has skyrocketed in the past two years, largely as a result of the expansion of Jalisco, which uses violence as a bargaining chip to enforce its law. In January of this year, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal published that it is a very fast-growing drug trafficking organization in Mexico and is largely responsible for the increase in violence since 2015, since it has strengthened its distribution network of illegal drugs, mainly methamphetamines.

 
And although it is not the only cartel, since intelligence reports from the National Security Commission (CNS) indicate that there are at least 15 large criminal groups linked to drug trafficking and other organized crime activities that call themselves "cartels", they are said to be the most violent and expansive, which has come into conflict with other organizations such as Los Viagras and La Familia Michoacana, in Michoacán; in Guanajuato, against the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel; in Puebla and Veracruz, against Los Zetas; in Guerrero, against Guerreros Unidos; and in Jalisco, against a cell formed by a split of the CJNG itself, headed by Carlos Enrique Sánchez Martínez "El Cholo" and who operates mainly in the Metropolitan Area of ​​Guadalajara.
 
After the announcement of the increase of the reward, elements of the PGR said that they are busily searching in Jalisco for Oseguera Cervantes "El Mencho". The head of the office of the federal agency, Alberto Elías Beltrán, explained that the increase in the amount of reward is part of a search strategy, because the capo is considered one of the most dangerous international criminals.
 
According to the PGR, another part of the operating scheme to find the fugitive focuses on dismantling and weakening the financial networks of that and other drug trafficking groups that operate both in Mexico and in the United States, from whose government all support has been received, in a joint strategy.

However, during the last year, only one condemnatory sentence was pronounced, in last January, against members of New Generation. They are eleven members dedicated to kidnapping and extorting business owners in municipalities of southern Jalisco, who were arrested in the streets of Tecalitlán. All were sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for their full responsibility in the commission of organized crime and carrying firearms exclusively for the Army.

 

FOOTPRINTS OF THEIR ACTS

The criminal actions of the CJNG generally transcend borders due to their high degree of violence, such as when on May 1, 2015 a helicopter of the Mexican Air Force was shot down and nine soldiers and federales were killed. In 2018 there have been six cases of what are considered high impact crimes.
 
First, the disappearance of three Italian citizens on the last day of January in the municipality of Tecalitlán, Jalisco, an incident that caused  a demonstration in the city of Naples during a football match of the Serie A of the Italian League. Antonio and Raffaele Russo and Vincenzo Cimmino, traveling businessmen, still have not appeared, although municipal police have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the matter, having given them to members of the cartel.
 
On February 5, the criminal organization ordered the deprivation of liberty of two elements of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) in the limits of Jalisco and Nayarit. They forced agents to record a video message, forced to blame themselves for inflicting torture and fabricating crimes  due to superior orders and then killed them. To date, 18 people have been arrested for these acts, including a presumed Colombian drug trafficker named Mauricio "N" and several police elements from the Bay of Banderas.
 
Another atrocious case that had national and international impact was the "levantón" on March 19 of three film students from a private school in Guadalajara, whom were allegedly confused with members of the enemy cell of "El Cholo." The students were murdered and dissolved in acid, in a version not proven by the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office. Among the deceased is the young Solomon Aceves Gastélum, originally from Mexicali. There are five detainees so far.
 
On May 21, in the capital of Jalisco, gunfire was aimed to end the life of the former Attorney General and then Secretary of Labor, Luis Carlos Najera Gutiérrez de Velasco, who was in a restaurant in the zona rosa known as Chapultepec. It resulted in a lesion on one hand and he was able to escape, but nine people suffered gunshot wounds, including two bodyguards. During night blockades, a mother and her baby were burned with fuel by gunmen from the CJNG when traveling by public transport. The boy died in the event and the woman weeks later. There are several detainees.

The last terrifying event is abandoned public housing in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and a house in Guadalajara used as clandestine graves, where in the last three months have been located dozens of corpses.

The apprehensions of the cartel  

Between October 2017 and September 2018, various police and military forces detained alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), including some relatives of the visible leader of the criminal organization:
 
2017
 
October 27th. The Federal Police, in coordination with the Deputy Attorney General for Organized Crime Investigation (SEIDO), arrested Reginaldo "N" and Rubén "N", alleged financial operators of the CJNG, who used ghost companies linked to a daughter of Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho" to handle large sums of money.
 
December 27 The Federal Police of Brazil detained José González Valencia "Chepa" or "Camarón", 42 years old, in a luxurious tourist complex in the city of Fortaleza, designated as one of the leaders of the CJNG, who had passed through Bolivia from where he operated the transfer of drugs to North America. He is brother-in-law of "El Mencho".
 
2018
 
March 16. In various operations in Jalisco and Nayarit, Federal forces captured 18 people involved in the disappearance and murder of two elements of the Criminal Investigation Agency on February 5, in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit. Presumably they were led by the Colombian Mauricio "N", head of the CJNG in Puerto Vallarta.
 
April 6. Although he was not arrested, the United States Treasury Department added to its blacklist of drug trafficking and money laundering Jesús Pérez Alvear, representative of grupero singers, supposedly related to the CJNG, through his concert organizer Gallística Diamante .
 
April 11. Elements of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) arrested in Tlajomulco, Jalisco, Jorge Luis "N" alias "El Orejón", family member of "El Mencho" and operator of the sale and distribution of drugs, as well as the illegal trade of wood and hydrocarbons. In a search, three weapons, loaded cartridges, methamphetamine, a scale and two vehicles were seized.
 
April 19th. Elements of the PGR and the Navy stopped at the El Tigre golf club in Nayarit, José Luis Gutiérrez Ochoa "El Tolín", brother-in-law of Rubén Oseguera González "El Menchito", son of "Mencho". The captured man is the son of the late drug trafficker José Luis Gutiérrez Valencia "Don Chelo", who controlled the Puente Grande prison, Jalisco, and was killed by the Navy in December 2017 in Tonalá, Jalisco.
 
April 30th. In Puerto Vallarta, the PGR detained Adrián "N", in charge of accounting for the CJNG and former deputy administrative director of the Puerto Vallarta Police. He was transferred to the Puente Grande prison, where weeks later he "committed suicide" in strange circumstances.
 
May 10. As a result of Operation Escudo Titán, federal forces apprehended Jonathan "N", member of the CJNG and one of the alleged perpetrators of the disappearance and presumed murder of three film students from Guadalajara.
 
May 11. The Secretariat of Security of Michoacán detained Eduardo N. "El Tocho", presumed boss of the CJNG plaza in La Piedad, Michoacán. He owned a vehicle with a report of theft and a long weapon.
 
May 26 On Royal Country Avenue, in Zapopan, members of the Marina detained Rosalinda "N", wife of "El Mencho". She had an arrest warrant for the crimes of organized crime and operations with resources of illegal origin.
 
Federal forces captured Gerardo "N", identified as operator of the CJNG in Michoacán and Guanajuato. He was wanted for crimes of homicide, kidnapping, extortion and crimes against health. He has a  request for extradition to the United States, where he is wanted for the murder of a person in 2002.
 
May 27th. Navy elements detained Juan José Farías Álvarez "El Abuelo" in Michoacán, presumed operator of the CJNG in Tierra Caliente and former leader of the self-defense groups. Ten other people were captured in Tepalcatepec. The event caused roadblocks and demonstrations.
 
May 28 Federal forces arrested Javier Valle Brawnt "El Peque" during a search in the Monumental neighborhood in Guadalajara, identified as the main supplier of chemical precursors for the CJNG. He operated in Colima, Jalisco, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Sinaloa.
 
June 18. The Criminal Investigation Agency of the PGR reported the capture of two members of the CJNG. Juan Francisco "N" was engaged with -among other things- the recruitment of new elements for this criminal group in Tlajomulco; while Sergio Alan "N" was responsible for the protection of weapons and drugs.
 
19th of June. Military and federal agents caught Emilio Alexandro "N" alias "El Sobrino", allegedly responsible for the attack against former Attorney General and former Secretary of Labor of the Government in Jalisco, Luis Carlos Najera. He is considered in charge of the sale and distribution of drugs and cigarettes in the entity. Collaborator of "Tony Montana", brother of "El Mencho".
 
June 25th. The Federal Police arrested the Arnulfo and Ulises Jovani Gonzalez Valencia Brothers in the housing development Park Virreyes in Zapopan, alleged leaders of the criminal group of "Los Cuinis", brothers of Rosalinda "N" and brothers-in-law of "El Mencho". An elite group tracked them for their actions from Bolivia to Mexico and the American Union.
 
July 14. PGR agents captured Jesus Contreras Arceo in Querétaro, allegedly linked to the financial operation of the CJNG and required by a federal court in Virginia, United States, to face accusations of crimes against health, criminal association, and operations with resources of illegal origin.