Mexican cartel leader convicted of international drug trafficking

A federal jury today convicted Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, also known as El Menchito, of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, knowing and with the intent that they would be imported into the United States. He was also found guilty of using, carrying and brandishing firearms, including destructive devices, in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. The verdict followed a two-week jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2007 and 2017, Oseguera-Gonzalez, 34, led an international drug trafficking organization that was responsible for importing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States. Oseguera-Gonzalez was the second-in-command of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), based in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. The CJNG is one of the most dangerous drug cartels in Mexico. Oseguera-Gonzalez personally used firearms, destructive devices, assassinations and kidnapping to control the drug trafficking organization. He also ordered his subordinates to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter so he could evade capture by Mexican law enforcement.

“El Menchito led the Jalisco Cartel’s efforts to use murder, kidnapping, and torture to build a self-proclaimed ’empire’ by manufacturing fentanyl and flooding the United States with massive amounts of the deadly drug,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today, fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced.”

“Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez pioneered the production of fentanyl in Mexico to build his father’s Jalisco Cartel into one of the world’s most powerful drug syndicates,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “His crimes caused horrific violence and death in the United States, Mexico, and around the world.”

“As CJNG’s second-in-command, Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez used extreme violence to smuggle large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri.

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that the DEA will do everything in its power to investigate and dismantle criminal drug networks that threaten the safety and health of the American people,” said Anne Milgram, Director of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

From 2012 to 2015, Oseguera-Gonzalez oversaw the production of more than three million pounds of methamphetamine in one area of ​​Mexico. In April 2015, he oversaw the distribution of more than 55,000 pounds of cocaine. According to testimony at the October 2013 trial, he planned to “go big” with counterfeit OxyContin pills, just before fentanyl became an epidemic in the United States.

Oseguera-Gonzalez was arrested by Mexican authorities in June 2015 on local charges and remained in custody until his extradition to the United States in February 2020. While in custody in Mexico, he continued to direct CJNG activities.

Oseguera-Gonzalez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years in prison, with a statutory maximum of life plus 30 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 10 of next year.

The DEA Los Angeles Field Division investigated this case with the assistance of multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, along with significant contributions from several departments within the Department of Justice, to ensure a successful extradition and secure critical evidence leading to a conviction process.

Acting Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni along with trial attorneys Kate Naseef Jonathan R Hornok Lernik Begian prosecuted under the criminal divisions Narcotic Dangerous Drug Section, marking a new milestone in the fight against organized crime under OCDETF initiatives aimed at disrupting top-level criminal organizations that threaten U.S. interests worldwide