El Menchito Heads To Trial After Rejecting US Agreement; He Could’ve Avoided Life Imprisonment

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

If he accepted the US government's agreement, El Mencho's son would have received a sentence of 40 years in prison instead of life in prison.

Rubén Oseguera González, El Menchito, decided to go to trial after rejecting the last offer made to him by the US government of a plea deal.

The son of one of Mexico's most notorious drug traffickers, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, refused to negotiate a deal that included a recommendation that the sentence be 40 years in prison, instead of life in prison, in exchange for pleading guilty to two charges against him.

During the hearing, held on Monday, May 13, the US government formally presented its latest offer for a plea deal, and after it was rejected it was established that the first hearings to prepare for his trial will be in September.

The Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section of the Department of Justice reported in a memorandum the details of the settlement offer, which was discussed with El Menchito and his defense personally at least on April 9 and 25.

What did the agreement that they proposed to 'El Menchito' imply?

The agreement involved Oseguera González pleading guilty to the two charges against him: conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and use or possession of a firearm in connection with narcotics crimes.

On the other hand, it also implied that Oseguera could be sentenced to life in prison or eventually be granted parole with residency in the United States.

The government, for its part, proposed to recommend to Judge Beryl A. Howell, leading the case, a sentence of 40 years in prison, the minimum punishment for the charges against him, given the potential life sentence that he could suffer in case he goes to trial without the intervention of prosecutors.

The government even proposed accepting the mitigating circumstance that the defendant accepted his responsibility and pleaded guilty, which would have helped in a decrease in the level of the offense, and perhaps in his sentence.

But the agreement didn’t convince El Mencho's son. “He has rejected the government's offer and our trial scheduled for September is confirmed,” El Menchito's lawyer, Anthony Colombo, explained to MILENIO.

How did the US government act?

This time, the US government acted with greater caution, just over a year ago, El Menchito retracted a first collaboration agreement one day before; Therefore, Monday's hearing was held under a record that would allow past plea offers to be established.

“The United States government requests that the Court require the defendant to personally accept that he understands the offer, that he has considered it with the advice of his defense, that his decision is conscious and voluntary, and that he then establish in the record his desire to plead guilty or diminish his right to a trial in this case,” the US government requested before today's hearing.

At the beginning of 2023 the United States government and El Menchito's defense were preparing to go to trial, but in March Oseguera González requested a hearing in which he announced that he was prepared to reach a plea agreement.

On March 11 of the same year, one day before the appointment, the United States prosecutor's office accused that relatives of Oseguera González had requested to present a new lawyer, Arturo Hernández, as part of the defense of the accused.

The next day, El Menchito retracted his intention to plead guilty and said he intended to go to trial.

Oseguera González was arrested on June 23, 2015 in Zapopan, Jalisco, after a coordinated operation between the Mexican Army and the Federal Police.

It was the third time he was detained, although on this last occasion he was unable to obtain his freedom. He was extradited to the United States in February 2020.

Milenio