The New Capo di Tutti Capi of the CJNG

Who Is Juan Carlos Valencia González?

 

Born on September 12, 1984, in Santa Ana, California, Juan Carlos Valencia González, a.k.a. "Pelón," "Tricky Tres," "O3," "El 3," "JP," and "Pelacas," is the son of Armando Valencia Cornelio, a.k.a. "El Maradona" or "El Juanito," and Rosalinda González Valencia. Following the death of his stepfather, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), he became the first American national to assume full control of a major Mexican cartel.

 

He spent his early childhood in California while his biological parents, Armando Valencia Cornelio and Rosalinda González Valencia, managed the logistics of the Milenio Cartel. After his biological father was arrested by the Mexican military in 2003, his mother married CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. "El Mencho," making him Valencia González's stepfather. Valencia González was raised alongside his cousins and half-siblings in the Guadalajara metropolitan area under the protection of the González Valencia ("Los Cuinis") family network.

 

On July 20, 2020, during a press conference hosted by Mexican President López Obrador, Secretary of Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval González identified one of the leaders of Grupo Elite as Juan Carlos González, alias "El R-3."

 

On December 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction for manufacturing, transporting, and distributing large quantities of narcotics, as well as for organizing numerous violent crimes.

 

Where Is the CJNG Now?

 

CJNG uses a franchise-based command structure—an affiliation agreement between smaller local cartels and the CJNG—to facilitate expansion outside its strongholds in Jalisco, Nayarit, and Colima. CJNG is one of Mexico's most powerful, influential, and ruthless transnational criminal organizations and a key supplier of illicit fentanyl to the United States. CJNG has expanded its operations beyond Mexico's borders, establishing a presence in more than 40 countries.

 

The CJNG's leadership succession became publicly clearer after the first official U.S. intelligence assessment identifying the organization's new leadership.

The New Heir Takes the Crown

 

In June 2026, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) publicly identified Juan Carlos Valencia González as the overall leader of the CJNG, with regional commanders overseeing the organization's day-to-day operations under his authority.

 

It is also worth noting that the report identifies Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, a.k.a. "El Chorro," as the CJNG's second-in-command, senior lieutenant, and Oseguera's son-in-law, placing the CJNG within the old-school model, in which leadership remains within the family rather than passing to former lieutenants.

 

After the arrest of El Jardinero, during a detention plagued with inconsistencies, none of his bodyguards opened fire on the security forces and appeared to allow him to be arrested by the Mexican security authorities. This action fully consolidated the position of "El 03" on the throne of the CJNG, and with no other key figure inside the criminal organization capable of fighting for control, it seems that, at least for now, the full control of the CJNG by "El 03" appears uncontested.

 

Sources: justice.gov - state.gov - dni.gov - juan-carlos-valencia-gonzalez - dea.gov