Top El Mencho Ally Gets 30-Year U.S. Sentence \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A U.S. judge sentenced José González Valencia, key CJNG ally, to 30 years. He financed smuggling operations using advanced narco-tech for El Mencho’s cartel. U.S. also charged El Mencho’s son-in-law in a parallel money laundering case.
Quick Looks
- José González Valencia, aka “Chepa,” sentenced to 30 years in U.S. prison for drug trafficking.
- He led Los Cuinis, a CJNG financial network, using semi-submersibles and other narco tactics.
- Arrested in Brazil in 2017, extradited to the U.S., and pleaded guilty in 2022.
- Prosecutors linked him to 4,000 kilos of cocaine smuggled in submersible vessels.
- El Mencho’s son-in-law, Cristian Gutiérrez Ochoa, also pleaded guilty to money laundering.
- Gutiérrez faked his death and fled to the U.S. to escape Mexican authorities.
- CJNG was declared a foreign terrorist organization under Trump, enabling new prosecutions.
- U.S. has increased cooperation with Mexico, leading to high-profile extraditions and charges.
Deep Look
The recent sentencing of José González Valencia in a U.S. federal court represents a major milestone in the decades-long effort to dismantle the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful, violent, and globally connected criminal enterprises. Known as “Chepa,” González Valencia received a 30-year prison term after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking—highlighting both the scale of CJNG’s narcotics operations and the evolving U.S. strategy to target cartel leadership using sweeping legal tools.
González Valencia’s rise through the ranks of the cartel’s financial arm, “Los Cuinis,” exemplifies the sophisticated financial and logistical structures that make CJNG a global threat. Alongside his brothers, he transformed Los Cuinis into the cartel’s economic engine, laundering hundreds of millions of dollars and coordinating transnational shipments of drugs using innovative smuggling tactics—from semi-submersibles to concealed shark carcasses.
The U.S. government alleges that González Valencia personally financed a shipment of over 4,000 kilograms of cocaine in a narco-submarine, charting a route from Colombia to Guatemala. The operation required cross-border coordination, high-tech logistics, and insider knowledge of maritime patrol schedules—proof of how far cartels have evolved from street-level drug peddlers to transnational criminal syndicates.
His arrest in 2017 while vacationing under a false identity in Brazil was a culmination of years of international intelligence sharing. After fleeing Bolivia two years prior, González Valencia had eluded authorities despite being one of the DEA’s most wanted cartel figures. His extradition to the U.S. was seen as a diplomatic breakthrough during a period of strained relations between Mexico, Brazil, and the Trump administration.
In court, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sealed part of the sentencing hearing—possibly to protect classified law enforcement methods or ongoing investigations. While prosecutors painted González Valencia as a kingpin with direct links to cartel violence, including ordering assassinations of rivals, his defense remained largely silent. The secrecy surrounding the sealed discussions has only fueled speculation about his potential cooperation with U.S. authorities.
This case is part of a broader U.S. offensive against CJNG, which the Trump administration in early 2025 officially labeled a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). That designation provided the Department of Justice with expanded tools typically reserved for prosecuting al-Qaeda or ISIS members—allowing authorities to seize assets, levy terrorism charges, and target support networks including money launderers, arms dealers, and corrupt officials.
The FTO label was not symbolic. It has already led to multiple indictments and extraditions, including several that remain sealed. According to DOJ criminal division chief Matthew Galeotti, this “division-wide approach” includes financial crimes, cyber operations, and transnational surveillance. “We’re not just going after shooters or traffickers,” Galeotti told the AP. “We’re targeting the financial facilitators, the brokers, the legal front companies. And we’re seeing real results.”
Another key target in this campaign is Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, El Mencho’s son-in-law, who appeared in court just hours before González Valencia. Gutiérrez pleaded guilty to laundering cartel profits and had reportedly faked his death to escape Mexican prosecution after allegedly abducting two Mexican Navy officers to pressure the release of El Mencho’s wife from custody. His capture in California revealed the sophisticated efforts CJNG members are willing to employ—including identity falsification and cross-border evasion tactics.
The legal takedown of González Valencia and Gutiérrez Ochoa follows earlier high-profile prosecutions, including the life sentence for El Mencho’s son, Rubén “El Menchito” Oseguera, in March. Convicted of conspiring to import cocaine and methamphetamine and of using firearms in furtherance of drug crimes, “El Menchito” was considered the heir apparent of CJNG before his arrest and extradition.
Together, these arrests and convictions signal a coordinated U.S. strategy: isolate CJNG’s leadership, dismantle its financial infrastructure, and limit its global reach. By pairing terrorism designations with classic anti-trafficking tools, prosecutors can hit the cartel from multiple angles, making it harder for successors to reorganize and rebuild.
Still, law enforcement experts caution that dismantling a cartel is a long-term endeavor. “Cartels are hydra-headed. You cut off one leader, another can emerge,” said former DEA agent Mike Vigil. “But this kind of sustained pressure—where you combine diplomatic pressure, legal indictments, and international extraditions—can limit their power, reduce violence, and disrupt supply chains.”
The success of the CJNG prosecutions also hinges on continued cooperation with Mexican authorities. Recent months have seen Mexico extradite nearly 30 cartel figures to the U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero, the drug lord convicted of ordering the murder of a DEA agent in 1985. This level of collaboration, rare in past years due to political tensions, signals a potential new era of binational anti-cartel strategy.
Yet challenges remain. Cartels like CJNG operate with the help of corrupt officials, legitimate businesses, and access to global financial systems. Prosecutors must work across jurisdictions and legal systems while navigating the political sensitivities of prosecuting foreign nationals under terrorism laws.
For now, the sentencing of González Valencia marks a significant milestone in the fight against CJNG. It serves as a warning to cartel financiers and leaders that the U.S. is committed to holding them accountable—not just as traffickers, but as transnational threats.
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