A U.S. native is rumored to be the standout successor to slain Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio ‘El Mencho‘ Oseguera Cervantes, according to the New York Post.
Juan Carlos Valencia González has reportedly emerged as a contender to take over the $20 billion cartel days after the raid by Mexican special forces that resulted in Cervantes’ death on Sunday (February 22). González, 41, is Cervantes’ stepson and his mother, Rosalinda ‘La Jefa‘ González Valencia was reportedly a major financier to her husband’s cartel.
Some analysts have suggested that Valencia could take over for her late husband, but others believe she will instead select her son. González, known as ‘El Pelon,’ ‘Tricky Tres’ and ‘O3,’ has dual citizenship in the U.S. in Mexico, having been born in Santa Ana, Orange County, California.
Few details of his life are known publicly, but he was reported to have been the offspring of cartel-linked parents between Valencia and Armando Valenvia Cornelio. González was accused of drug ties by the DEA in 2020 and an investigation found him responsible for making and selling “tons of narcotics,” as well as having a hand in violent crimes dating back to 2007.
Mexican intelligence agencies were able to take out Cervantes by tracking him to his mistress’ secluded resort compound, officials announced on Monday via the New York Post. Mexico’s Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla confirmed that agents identified a man close to Cervantes’ girlfriend ahead of the successful raid on Sunday. The woman was reportedly taken to Tapalpa, where Cervantes, 53, was shot during a firefight between his bodyguards and the Mexican military and died from injuries sustained while en route to Mexico City.
The deadly violence in response to Cervantes’ killing has reportedly spread to at least two-thirds of Mexico’s states, the New York Post reports. At least 20 of Mexico‘s 31 states have reported violence in the wake of Cervantes’ arrest by Mexican special forces in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and death in custody on Sunday.
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro announced that much of the area was in a “code red” alert in a post shared on his X account Sunday.
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