U.S. targets California-born leader of ruthless Jalisco cartel 5 months after previous boss “El Mencho” killed

The United States on Thursday announced a slew of sanctions targeting more than 50 Mexican individuals and entities allegedly linked to one of the country’s largest drug cartels, including a California-born man Washington says is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel’s new leader.

According to a statement from the Treasury Department, dual U.S.-Mexican national Juan Carlos Gonzalez took control of the cartel (known by its Spanish acronym CJNG) after the killing of its previous chief “El Mencho” in February.

CJNG is an ultra-violent Mexico-based paramilitary cartel involved in extortion, money laundering and running a global drug trafficking network.  

Gonzalez, also known as “Pelon,” is the stepson of “El Mencho” — real name Nemesio Oseguera — who was injured and captured in a military sweep in Mexico’s Jalisco state in February and died of his injuries en route to the hospital.

The killing sparked a wave of violence across Mexico, with the cartel setting up highway blockades and setting fire to vehicles and buildings in 20 of the country’s 32 states.

More than 70 people died in that violence, including 25 National Guard members.

In April, Mexican authorities said they had captured two top criminals, including Audias Flores Silva (alias “The Gardener”), described as Oseguera’s right-hand man and expected by many to succeed him as the head of CJNG. Silva, who was arrested on April 27 while hiding in a ditch in the western state of Nayarit, was identified by the U.S. Treasury as one of Gonzalez’s deputies.

The U.S. Treasury said in a statement that Thursday’s action “disrupts a wide range of criminal activities benefiting CJNG across multiple Mexican states.”

In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

“Today’s action strikes Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion’s leadership, financiers, and criminal networks, denying the cartel the resources it uses to traffic fentanyl, terrorize communities, and threaten American lives,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

The statement added that Gonzalez is charged in a U.S. federal drug trafficking case in Washington, with the U.S. State Department offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. According to the State Department, Gonzalez was born in Santa Ana, California, on Sept. 12, 1984.

The new sanctions target a wide range of individuals and companies that Washington says are linked to CJNG’s leadership through business or family ties and that are used by the cartel to launder or conceal their assets.

They also target an alleged cocaine trafficking network and a group of individuals and companies accused of involvement in Mexico’s huge fuel smuggling sector.

Last month,  the U.S. Treasury announced a new bank alert targeting the cartel. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two men and nine companies involved in transportation, financial services and real estate, accused of being tied to a cartel-linked fuel theft ring intended to evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel.