HomeNewsBriefMexico Authorities Close In on CJNG With Arrest of Leader's Wife
BRIEF

Mexico Authorities Close In on CJNG With Arrest of Leader's Wife

JALISCO CARTEL / 28 MAY 2018 BY PARKER ASMANN EN

Authorities in Mexico have arrested the wife of the leader of the CJNG on charges she helped the group manage its dirty money, a potentially significant setback for the country’s most powerful criminal organization.

Mexican marines arrested Rosalinda González Valencia on May 26 in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, the capital of the central state of Jalisco, on charges of organized crime and money laundering.

González Valencia is the wife of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG). She allegedly helped handle the group's finances.

González Valencia is also the sister of Abigael González Valencia, who was arrested in February 2015 and is presumed to be the leader of the CJNG’s financial arm known as the Cuinis, which helped propel the group’s rise to power, according to US authorities.

SEE ALSO: Mexico News and Profiles

After the arrest, Jalisco Governor Aristóteles Sandoval announced that authorities were reinforcing security throughout the state as a “preventive measure” against any possible attacks from criminal groups in response. No such attacks have occurred.

The arrest of El Mencho’s wife comes just days after a wave of violence swept across the CJNG's home state. On May 21, armed men stormed a restaurant in Guadalajara and attacked former state prosecutor Luis Carlos Nájera. The attack was attributed to the CJNG, and was followed by more shootouts and roadblocks that left several injured and an 8-month-old infant dead.

InSight Crime Analysis

The detention of Rosalinda González Valencia is the latest in a string of arrests of financial operators linked to the CJNG, which could be a sign that authorities are following the group's money -- and it may be leading them closer to El Mencho himself.

After the February 2015 arrest of Rosalinda González Valencia's brother Abigael, several other members of her immediate family were also detained. In January 2016, Gerardo González Valencia was arrested in Uruguay and Elvis González Valencia was arrested in Mexico. Then, in December 2017, Brazilian authorities arrested yet another González Valencia brother, José, alias “La Chepa."

The González Valencia family is thought to be at the head of the Cuinis, and the arrests in disparate locations suggest authorities across the region -- including in the United States -- are cooperating to take down the financial arm of the CJNG. 

SEE ALSO: Jalisco Cartel New Generation Profile

Stephen Woodman, a freelance journalist based in Guadalajara, told InSight Crime that the recent blows to the CJNG suggest that authorities may be “closing in” on El Mencho.

“There have been several high-profile arrests over the past few years, and that does make it seem like authorities are moving in the direction of shutting him [El Mencho] and the Cuinis down,” Woodman told InSight Crime.

The financial wing of the CJNG is not the only part of the group that has been hit hard recently. A regional boss for the CJNG in the western state of Michoacán, Gerardo “N,” alias “El Cachas,” was also arrested in the operation that swept up El Mencho’s wife. And in a separate operation on May 27, Mexico’s marines also detained Juan José "N," alias “El Abuelo,” a former self-defense force leader and another CJNG operator in Michoacán. An alleged supplier of precursor chemicals for the CJNG, Javier “N,” was also recently arrested.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CONTRABAND / 8 JUN 2022

The Jalisco is allegedly powering the production of 12 percent of all Mexican-made illicit cigarettes, stepping up efforts across the…

MÉXICO / 25 MAR 2022

According to the Mexican president, the recent arrest of the alleged leader of the Northeast Cartel followed by a major…

FENTANYL / 14 JUL 2022

An announcement by the Mexican government about the largest seizure of illegal fentanyl in the country's history appeared to ignore…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…