Why Trump is pushing subject assistance for Mexico
The brother-in-law of the fugitive Jalisco New Generation brag known arsenic "El Mencho" was sentenced Friday to 30 years successful U.S. national situation pursuing his 2017 apprehension astatine a formation edifice successful Brazil portion vacationing with his household nether a fake name.
José González Valencia, 49, was sentenced successful a national tribunal successful Washington, D.C. Prosecutors said that for years helium orchestrated a prolific cause trafficking operation, utilizing a semi-submersible and different methods to debar detection, and provided weapons to 1 of Mexico's astir almighty cartels.
González Valencia, known arsenic "Chepa," on with his 2 brothers, led a radical called "Los Cuinis" that financed the cause trafficking operations of Jalisco New Generation, oregon CJNG.
The convulsive CJNG was 1 of 8 cartels that were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump medication successful February.
González Valencia's brother-in-law is CJNG person Nemesio Rubén "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, who for years has been sought by the U.S. government.
The State Department besides announced Wednesday that it was sanctioning 5 CJNG leaders, including "El Mencho," arsenic specially designated planetary terrorists.
Also sanctioned this week was CJNG determination commandant Audias Flores Silva, who the State Department said "controls clandestine laboratories utilized to nutrient methamphetamine and different amerciable drugs trafficked to the United States."
Sanctioned arsenic good was CJNG commandant Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, who is the premier fishy in the shooting decease past month of 23-year-old Mexican influencer Valeria Márquez during a livestream. Velasco and Márquez were believed to beryllium successful a romanticist relationship, the State Department said.
The State Department is offering a reward of up to $15 cardinal for accusation starring to the apprehension of "El Mencho," and up to $5 cardinal for accusation starring to the apprehension of Silva.
FILE - The letters "CJNG" for the group's ceremonial name, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, covers the facade of an abandoned location successful El Limoncito, successful the Michoacan authorities of Mexico, Oct. 30, 2021.
Eduardo Verdugo / AP
Meanwhile, El Mencho's son-in-law, Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, appeared successful the aforesaid courtroom earlier Friday to plead blameworthy successful a abstracted lawsuit to a wealth laundering conspiracy charge.
Gutierrez Ochoa was arrested toward the extremity of the Biden medication past twelvemonth successful California, wherever authorities person said helium was surviving nether a bogus sanction aft faking his ain decease and fleeing Mexico.
Together, the prosecutions bespeak the U.S. government's efforts to weaken the brutal Jalisco New Generation cartel that's liable for importing staggering amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States — and way down its elusive leader, El Mencho.
The Trump medication has sought to crook up the unit connected CJNG and different cartels with the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation, which gives authorities caller tools to prosecute those associated with cartels.
"You can't wholly prosecute your mode retired of the cartel problem, but you tin marque an existent interaction by letting radical cognize that we're going to beryllium enforcing this and showing that Mexico is being cooperative with america and past yet trying to get high-level targets to benignant of acceptable the enactment back," Matthew Galeotti, who leads the Justice Department's transgression division, said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press.
President Trump's Justice Department has declared dismantling CJNG and different cartels a apical priority, and Galeotti said the U.S. successful caller months has seen accrued practice from Mexican officials. In February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures — including cause lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was down the sidesplitting of a U.S. DEA cause successful 1985 — to the U.S. for prosecution.
The Trump medication has already charged a fistful of defendants with coercion offenses since designating CJNG and 7 different Latin American transgression organizations arsenic FTOs successful February. Galeotti said respective further indictments related to CJNG and different cartels stay nether seal.
"We are taking a division-wide attack to this," Galeotti said. "We've got wealth laundering prosecutors who are not conscionable focused connected the cartels themselves ... but besides connected fiscal facilitators. So erstwhile we're taking this wide attack ... That's wherefore I deliberation we've had immoderate of the truly important cases that we've had, and we've seen a precise important pipeline."
González Valencia pleaded blameworthy to planetary cocaine trafficking successful 2022. Authorities said helium went into hiding successful Bolivia successful 2015 aft starring Los Cuinis alongside his brothers for much than a decade. He was arrested successful 2017 nether the archetypal Trump medication aft traveling to Brazil, and was aboriginal extradited to the U.S.
Los Cuinis utilized "air, land, oversea and under-the-sea methods" to smuggle drugs bound for the U.S., prosecutors said. In 1 instance, authorities said González Valencia invested successful a shipment of 4,000 kilograms of cocaine — astir 8,818 pounds — that was packed successful a semi-submersible vas to question from Colombia to Guatemala. Other methods employed by Los Cuinis see hiding drugs successful frozen shark carcasses, prosecutors said. He's besides accused of directing the sidesplitting of a rival.
González Valencia appeared successful tribunal wearing an orangish jumpsuit and listened to the proceeding done an interpreter implicit headphones. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sealed portion of the hearing, keeping the property and nationalist retired of the courtroom portion lawyers argued implicit the sentence. It was not wide wherefore the justice determined it had to beryllium sealed. González Valencia's lawyer declined to remark aft the hearing.
In the different case, Gutiérrez Ochoa was wanted successful Mexico connected allegations that helium kidnapped 2 Mexican Navy members successful 2021 successful the anticipation of securing the merchandise of El Mencho's woman aft she had been arrested by Mexican authorities, prosecutors person said. Authorities person said he faked his ain death and fled to the U.S. to debar Mexican authorities, and that El Mencho told associates helium killed Gutiérrez Ochoa for lying.
Rosalinda Gonzalez, the woman of El Mencho, was released from Mexican situation successful February.
El Mencho's son, Rubén Oseguera — known arsenic "El Menchito" — was sentenced successful March to beingness successful situation aft his condemnation successful Washington's national tribunal of conspiring to administer cocaine and methamphetamine for U.S. importation and utilizing a firearm successful a cause conspiracy.
In May, a erstwhile Mexican national cause who testified against El Menchito successful U.S. national tribunal was changeable dead, on with his wife, astir 60 miles extracurricular of Mexico City.
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