Erick "El 85" Valencia Salazar, Former Co-Founder of CJNG, Captured in Tapalpa, Jalisco

"Socalj" & “Ivan” for Borderland Beat

Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, Chief of the General Staff announced that the capture was carried out during the early hours of Monday through a joint effort of the Army with the National Guard (GN) and other institutions to capture Erick Valencia Salazar, also known as "El 85."

The information was communicated by Trevilla in the framework of the commemorative ceremony of the 199th anniversary of the General Staff, where he took the opportunity to highlight the work done by the Army.

Detention photo of the 2022 arrest of "El 85".

New information has been released on the arrest of “El 85”. He was arrested through a coordinated operation between the Mexican Army, National Guard, CNI-Cenfi, FEMDO (FGR), and the General Directorate of International Police Affairs (Interpol Mexico) in the municipality of Tapalpa, Jalisco. The joint operation was formed in order to limit their movements and reduce the possibility of violent action.

The intelligence and inter-institutional coordination work carried out with the CNI-Cenfi, FEMDO (FGR) and the General Directorate of International Police Affairs (Interpol Mexico) made it possible to locate Erick, who was captured along with two others, Cristian Alberto N and Jose Luis N. 

The men were arrested with various amounts of drugs and several weapons including 1,000 pills of possible fentanyl, 750g of probable methamphetamine, possible cocaine, 4 short arms, and 1 5.56mm rifle.

Erick Valencia Salazar has an arrest warrant for extradition to the United States.

2012 Arrest & Release

The first time that El 85 was arrested was on March 9, 2012. Several bursts of gunfire were exchanged during the operation in the Guadalajara metro area suburb. When he was arrested, he was accused of organized crime, stockpiling weapons meant for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and possession of ammunition for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. 

On that occasion, there were reports of narco blockades and the burning of vehicles to stop military actions in Guadalajara. Armed men, presumably working for the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel, commandeered buses and other vehicles in Guadalajara and other parts of the state, setting many of them on fire. The disturbances mobilized hundreds of security and emergency personnel and created significant panic, as well as traffic jams.

It took 5 years for Jalisco Third District Judge Alejandro Castro Peña to grant him his freedom. The judge cited "detecting violations of due process and lack of evidence.” Narco messages were then hung at several points including Plaza de la Bandera in Guadalajara [GDL]. The messages were part of the ongoing, violent, CJNG infighting in Jalisco. They accused three levels of government of assisting "El Mencho." Specifically, saying that judges allowed “El 85”, to go free from prison. On December 30, 2017, he left Cefereso de Puente Grande. 

El 85 & El Mencho

Erick Valencia Salazar was one of the lieutenants of Milenio Cartel or Cartel de Los Valencia before he got involved with the Sinaloa Cartel. He was the former leader of the criminal group "Los Mata Zetas" founded together with "El Mencho." Under the leadership of Erick Valencia Salazar, they tried to take the place left by "Nacho Coronel."

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," leader of the CJNG, made use of alliances with small criminal organizations that operated locally in different states in Mexico, as well as the use of violence to seize territory to grow CJNG. He also used betrayal.

According to reports from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), Valencia Salazar never had absolute control of the region. Upon the death of "Nacho" Coronel; "El Mencho" and "El 85" began to fight for the plaza against "La Resistencia,” who was allied with "La Familia Michoacana" and "Los Zetas". Eventually, along with several from their prior network, formed Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

It has been alleged that "El Mencho" betrayed Erick Valencia Salazar and handed him over to the authorities to keep himself in full control of the new cartel. Enrique Sánchez Martínez, "El Cholo", was one of the closest and most trusted people of "El Mencho", but declared war after differences over the murder of "El Colombiano", (a financial operator of the criminal organization) and resulted in the separation of Sánnchez Martínez from the CJNG in March 2017 and since then he dedicated himself to recruiting people to form the Cartel Nueva Plaza. Upon his release, "El 85" seemingly split from the CJNG, run by "El Mencho" joining "El Cholo" in Nueva Plaza.

There has been much debate and contradicting messages from the two cartel groups themselves on whether "El 85" is aligned with or against "El Mencho" and whether Mencho helped with the prison release or refused to do so. While the narco manta mentioned above points out the involvement of the CJNG in securing his release with the help of corrupt government officials; a later video put out by Nueva Plaza stated that "El Mencho" refused to help and cited numerous other betrayals by Mencho. 

Last year, in March of 2021, "El Cholo" was captured by members of the CJNG, tortured, interrogated on camera, and brutally killed. The question of "El 85's" loyalty is still questioned and many say he has stayed with or gone back to working with Mencho as he has been able to survive for this long until his capture.

Early morning Twitter account  Toño Neri Johnston reported that a strong military operation was carried out in Tapalpa, Jalisco, leading to the recapture of Erick Valencia Salazar “El 85” cofounder of CJNG along with Mencho Oseguera. I could be wrong, but Erick Valencia Salazar “El 85” was still with CJNG. A corrido by Los Alegres Del Barranco named “El del Palenque” dedicated to Mencho Oseguera leader of CJNG, mentions that El 85 is still with CJNG."

Brazos armados que tengo

Los Elite y Los Guerreros
A los amos del terror
Los Delta y de El Jardinero
También del 85
A las órdenes de Mencho”… 

English Translation

“Armed arms I have
The Elite and the Warriors
The Masters of Terror
The Delta and the Gardener
Also from 85
At the orders of Mencho”

US Reward & Arrest Warrant

The United States Department of State, since his suspicious release in 2017, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Erick Valencia-Salazar.

Valencia-Salazar is charged in a 2018 federal indictment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for violations of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959, 960, and 963 (Conspiracy to Distribute Five Kilograms of Cocaine for Importation into the U.S.) and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2 (Aiding and Abetting).

Erick Valencia-Salazar is a Mexican drug trafficker who was a founding member and one of the alleged leaders of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a violent drug trafficking organization. Valencia-Salazar is allegedly responsible for the illegal importation of cocaine from Mexico and elsewhere for distribution in the United States since approximately 2003. Valencia-Salazar allegedly controls large areas of central Mexico, including important drug trafficking regions such as Jalisco, Baja California, Colima, and Michoacán. Valencia-Salazar is allegedly involved in kidnapping, murder, public corruption, and other illegal activities.

Sources: Infobae, Televisa, El Occidental, Quadratin, Sedena, Sedena

Background: Borderland Beat, State Department, Borderland Beat, Borderland Beat, Borderland Beat

Graphics by HEARST. 

The first image used in the article features an image from El 85's 2012 arrest, not his current 2022 detention, which has had no photos released as of the creation of the graphics.