Who Takes in the Ones Nobody Wants? Tijuana's Forgotten Ones

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Who takes the ones nobody wants? The ones wandering the streets with maggots in their flesh? The psychiatric patients who step out in front of cars? Who strip naked and chase you, or suddenly—while you're just walking along—land a blow on you. 

And nowadays, just about anyone delivers food; just about anyone wants to take addicts off the street; just about anyone wants to bring them blankets, sweatshirts, or something to eat...but who takes the ones nobody wants? Right. 

So, we're ready. It’s wide open out here. People here are either high, desperate for a fix, driven mad by drugs, dying from what they’ve taken, or literally rotting away. The "rotting ones" are the patients with maggots and open wounds—patients who aren't candidates for ambulances, hospitals, or any of that. Okay. Any questions? Who’s going to administer the injection? 

My name is Mac Rivera García. I’m the General Director of Tácticos del Bordo and the founder of the Marte Rescates y Traslados group. 

What’s up, man? How are you doing? How are your lips holding up? Everything good, brother? Need any wound care? 

Okay, those are the consequences of having no access to public services. If I called an ambulance right now, they’d come, check his vitals, and say they couldn't take him because his vitals are stable. We’ve been treating him, but we haven't been able to bring the swelling down. Right. 

Who—who’s going to handle the wound care? Or do you want me to do it? Tijuana is a beautiful city. Tijuana welcomes everyone with open arms, and there is no shortage of work here. It’s up to you. If you want to come here to Tijuana and misbehave, there’s work, but there are consequences. If you come to Tijuana to work like normal people, there’s work without consequences. 

I’m going to crack down harder, man. I left home when I was 11. That’s when I started running with gangs. After living on the streets for three years, I ran into my mom; since we know a lot of military people back in Culiacán, Sinaloa—where I’m from—she had connections and got me into the army. 

When we were up in the mountains, our job was to seize the poppy and marijuana fields, and whenever we burned it all, the smoke would blow right into my face—all that smoke would come right at me—and, well, literally...you were consuming it without actually using the drug yourself. 

The next day, I woke up with a craving, and I saw some comrades who were doing it. So I joined them. After that, military life wasn't the same anymore. That’s how I ended up leaving the military. I got caught trying to cross—attempting to cross over—so I couldn't make it across. They threw me in jail, then let me go and told me to try crossing again. 

How long did you spend in the United States? Seven years. And when were you deported? 

Two months ago. It was just two months ago. You see, you can't stay here. I mean, I can get food, but for a place to sleep, I have to pay 70 pesos for the night, because if I lie down here, the police will pick me up. I arrived in Tijuana in the year 2000, already struggling with addiction. I sold heroin along the border canal—the *bordo*—from 2001 to 2007. 

And I had to watch as the police would show up and collect their cut. They’d collect their cut; the boss would arrive—*ta-ta-ta*—and then they’d let us work. I’ve been committed to 15 different rehab centers, but none of them worked for me. They’d always beat me, humiliate me, dress me up as a woman, and shave my head completely bald. So, whenever I gained their trust, I’d escape from the centers. I escaped from all of them—I ran away from every single one of those 15 centers. 

So, do you want us to find you a shelter? 

Get off at 20th Street and go to Corsa—it’s right next door—and just tell them you’re coming on behalf of Fenómeno Táctico. They already have your photo here—your photo and your video. And here is the answer. If he wants to—of course, yes. If you want to. 

When I ended up in prison, I did get very depressed because I was being accused of things I hadn't done; I was accused of sex trafficking, human trafficking, possession of a stolen vehicle, and corruption of minors. So, as I said, I have no criminal record. I was acquitted; I have no criminal convictions. I can get a certificate proving I have no criminal record, but I felt very frustrated when I got out. I left feeling ashamed and afraid. 

While in prison, I worked with doctors, radiologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, criminologists, social workers, dentists, lab staff, and radiologists—I learned from all of them over those six years. Hey, go get another one ready for the lady. So, when I ended up in prison, that was my best rehab center. That’s where I found myself again.

And you know, when I got out of prison, I made a point of going to the places where I used to hang out—whether I was selling or using—and I started seeing the people I used to use with, and they were in worse shape. They’d come to me with maggots, with abscesses full of pus; I saw that needle exchanges weren't happening anymore, so I started dressing their wounds and doing needle exchanges myself. 

Look, the foot infections have gone down, but it seems like the stomach problem hasn't fully cleared up. Their stomach is just so swollen. Yeah, it looks like it's full of fluid, right? Yeah, it's swollen. The face doesn't look as puffy anymore, but I am worried about the eyes. The eyelids seem to be swelling up. And that really motivated me—you know, it really motivated me. 

I felt really good about myself because, well, I’d never really accomplished anything in life, and starting to do things like that—it humanized me. I feel like I’ve redeemed my honor after being imprisoned for no reason—without justification—just for spitting in the face of a cop who was beating me. 

And you can see how motivated my volunteers are, how they come in with that spark. There are the ones you saw, but there are others who’ve been with us for a year, two, or three—university students, psychologists, psychology majors, Oxxo workers. But it’s great knowing there are people with that spark, because I’d really like for someone to carry this on someday when I’m no longer here. 

What is your name? How old are you? Do you know what year it is? 

They’re about to provide services here at "The Castle." Right now, they’re going to cut his hair, give him clean clothes, and let him take a shower. I bought some supplies there so he could eat. And right now, he’s buying cigarettes. "The Castle" is a place for survival. Only those who want to survive go there. 

I take people to "The Castle" when rehab centers won't take them anymore—when no one else will accept them, that’s where I take them. People who use drugs at home and beat their mothers or children because they’re acting out of their minds—we take them to "The Castle." They get in for free. 

Sometimes people can't afford a private rehab center, and the costs for those places are exorbitant. We use "The Castle" as a discipline center—so you understand me. It’s a high-discipline facility. I take people there—sometimes it’s not about rehab; it’s about taking them off the streets. 

How many days have you been here? Six days. Six days. How have you been feeling? Alright. Next question...pretty bad. Okay. What were you using, man? 

Fentanyl and heroin. I’m leaving whenever I can. 

You were brought here against your will? 

By request. By request. 

So, do you have family here? 

No, on the other side. On the other side. 

The thing is, we need a lot of things. We need a facility for minors that doesn't charge a fee, for starters. Otherwise, we’re soon going to have new hitmen or drug dealers, because it’s become a trend for minors to be doing that sort of thing. We also need a psychiatric facility to house the psychiatric patients we currently have at "The Castle." 

At any moment, "The Castle" is going to tell us, "Don't bring me any more psychiatric patients—figure out where to take them, because they've been here for four years already." So, what am I supposed to do? Well, it’ll be a shame, but I’ll have to tie them all together by the hand—like a bunch of kids—and take them over to the Government Palace. I’ll stand there until someone pays attention to me. That's it.

Source: Animal Político

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The Hell of Zacatecas — Why Has Zacatecas Become Such an Important and Violent Battleground for Mexico's Criminal Organizations?

On August 20, 2026, a car bomb exploded outside police headquarters in Ojocaliente, Zacatecas, leaving at least 11 people injured: two police officers and nine civilians. The explosion also affected more than 63 homes and 15 vehicles.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the bombing. They allegedly placed approximately 200 kilograms of explosives inside the vehicle and carried out surveillance prior to the attack. State authorities suspect that the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) was behind the bombing.

The Fentanyl Route — Why Zacatecas Matters

Zacatecas' strategic location makes it important for drug trafficking toward the United States. The state sits along major transportation routes connecting central and western Mexico with the country's northern border. The Pan-American Highway provides access toward the U.S. border, while Highway 54 connects routes originating near Colima and Manzanillo with northern Mexico. Other transportation corridors connect the region with routes toward Ciudad Juárez and Piedras Negras.

The Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, two of Mexico's principal drug trafficking organizations and major actors in the country's fentanyl trade, both maintain a presence in Zacatecas as part of their broader criminal operations. Although Zacatecas is not considered a principal fentanyl production center, its transportation infrastructure makes it valuable as a distribution and transit corridor toward the United States.

Zacatecas' geography and its location in central Mexico make the state valuable for trafficking. The state borders eight other Mexican states, and 42 of its 58 municipalities share a boundary with another state. This makes the state a buffer zone from which cartels can project power into different states, providing opportunities to move into or retreat toward multiple neighboring territories.

A Dispute for Power

No single criminal organization maintains uncontested control over Zacatecas. The state's strategic value has attracted multiple cartels, while fragmented control has contributed to persistent competition among criminal actors over trafficking corridors and territory.

The principal organizations competing in the state include CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel's Mayiza faction, while smaller or more localized actors include the Gulf Cartel's Los Metros faction, the Cártel del Noreste (CDN), and Los Talibanes.

CDN and Los Talibanes emerged from the fragmentation of Los Zetas. As Los Zetas declined as a major criminal organization, successor groups and factions linked to the Gulf Cartel remained involved in competition for lucrative drug-trafficking routes in the region.

The bombing against authorities is one of the major developments in the growing turf war between the Mayito Flaco faction and CJNG. Ojocaliente lies along a strategically important corridor between Aguascalientes and Jalisco. Fuerza Zacatecana, also known as Comando F-Z Nueva Generación, announced an escalation of the conflict against Mayiza and accused authorities of collaborating with the rival criminal group. The bombing represents the latest manifestation of this territorial dispute.

Evolution of Violence

Criminal groups' mechanisms of terror, territorial control, and disciplinary violence have become increasingly sophisticated amid Mexico's cartel conflicts. In addition to heavily armed sicarios, criminal organizations have increasingly incorporated technologies and weapons such as drones, improvised explosives, and car bombs.

Criminal violence is designed not only to attack rivals and security forces but also to produce a psychological impact on the civilian population. The car bombing in Ojocaliente is a concrete example of the use of psychological terror to coerce state security forces and ensure that the population does not spread information about events in Zacatecas beyond the state's borders.

The Human Cost — Disappearances

Homicides in Zacatecas have declined in recent years, but other indicators raise questions about whether criminal violence has declined to the same extent. As of 2025, 4,310 people were reported missing or disappeared in the state, amid a period of intense criminal competition. The contrast between declining homicide figures and persistent disappearances raises questions about whether homicide statistics alone adequately reflect the evolution of violence in Zacatecas.

The intensification of the Mayiza-CJNG conflict could once again increase violence in Zacatecas, particularly as both organizations compete for control of trafficking corridors whose geographic position makes the state strategically important for criminal operations.

Sources:

fentanyl-trade-central-mexico - violence-zacatecas-mexico-surges-cjng-mayiza-clash/ -infobae.com  - three-captured-after-cjng-car-bomb-in.html - car-bomb-destroys-municipal-police.html

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"El Pepa", Plaza Boss of La Línea Arrested in Manuel Ojinaga, Chihuahua

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

The Mexican Army and National Guard captured Epifanio N, alias “El Pepa”, the plaza boss of La Línea, a cell affiliated with the Nuevo Cártel de Juárez, in Manuel Ojinaga, Chihuahua yesterday. This is the first major capture of a Juarez Cartel member since the U.S. designated the group a Foreign Terrorist Organization in July. 

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Mexican Security Forces Kill Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, a.k.a. “R5” and “Wicho de los Reyes”

In the early morning of August 31, the Mexican Army, with support from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, conducted a security operation in the Sierra of Michoacán that resulted in the death of Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, a.k.a. “R5” and “Wicho de los Reyes.”

 

Who Was “R5”?

According to U.S. authorities, Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez was a regional leader and chief of hitmen (jefe de sicarios) for the Los Reyes Cartel. Barragán Chávez reportedly became involved in Michoacán's armed groups alongside his brother-in-law, with whom he initially fought Los Caballeros Templarios as part of the self-defense (autodefensas) movement. The two later formed their own criminal organization.

 

What Is the Los Reyes Cartel?

The Los Reyes Cartel is a Michoacán-based criminal organization that operates as a faction of Carteles Unidos, an alliance of several criminal groups active across the state.

 

Carteles Unidos and Michoacán

According to U.S. authorities, Carteles Unidos emerged as an alliance of smaller Michoacán-based cartels seeking to prevent larger criminal organizations from expanding into the state, particularly CJNG. The alliance has reportedly been engaged in a territorial conflict with CJNG since mid-August 2019.

“Carteles Unidos is a transnational criminal and drug trafficking organization that controls large areas of Michoacán. Acting as an umbrella organization, it unites several Michoacán-based cartels to acquire, manufacture, and distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine for smuggling into the United States.” The organization is also involved in extortion and other criminal activities.

Carteles Unidos has been linked to the recruitment of foreign mercenaries and the use of improvised explosive devices, including attacks that resulted in the deaths of Mexican soldiers. According to U.S. allegations, profits from drug sales in the United States were used to finance armed operations in Michoacán, acquire heavy weaponry, hire Colombian mercenaries, bribe local officials, and finance lavish lifestyles for cartel leaders.

According to U.S. authorities, Carteles Unidos has also been associated with extortion targeting avocado and lime producers, with those who refuse or are unable to make the demanded payments reportedly facing threats, disappearance, or death.

 

 What Was “R5” Accused Of?

In July 2023, U.S. prosecutors formally charged Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez in the District of Columbia with offenses related to conspiracies to traffic drugs and firearms. The allegations against R5 and Carteles Unidos involved drug trafficking, including the production and trafficking of synthetic opioids to the United States, as well as terrorism and extortion in Mexico's agricultural sector.

Barragán Chávez allegedly led armed factions of Carteles Unidos that enforced territorial control using assault weapons, improvised explosive devices, armed drones, armored vehicles, and foreign mercenaries.

 

What Was the Reward for “R5”?

On August 14, 2025, the U.S. government offered a reward of up to $3 million for information leading to Barragán Chávez's arrest and/or conviction.

 

International Connections

U.S. investigations have traced Carteles Unidos' criminal network from clandestine drug laboratories in Michoacán to major distribution hubs across the United States, with related cases pursued in the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Tennessee. The investigations illustrate the international dimension of the organization, connecting drug production and armed operations in Michoacán with distribution networks operating across multiple U.S. states.

 

Sources:  treasury.gov - justice.gov - state.gov

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Los Chapitos Sought to Expand Fentanyl Trafficking into Israel, the Middle-East and New Zealand

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

From a Milenio Article

“Start looking into the possibility of opening up markets in countries like Jordan, Israel, and New Zealand,” one of the leaders of a Sinaloa Cartel cell told another member of the organization during a call intercepted by Mexico's Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in October 2023. 

The person on the other end identified in the case file as the operative responsible for smuggling drugs across the Mexicali-Calexico border and distributing them in the United States, took weeks to revisit the topic. However, when he did according to the report by investigators who analyzed the audio, he confirmed that the plan would indeed go ahead: they would open markets in those three countries, starting with Israel, and divide up the territories as opportunities arose.

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CJNG Members Including "El Jardinero's" Godson Arrested in Czech Republic While Buying Weapons for Drugs

 “Socalj” for Borderland Beat

Four members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, are facing federal charges after they were arrested in the Czech Republic. The men are accused of trying to buy military weapons with drugs trafficked into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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U.S. Government Offers Up to $102 Million for the CJNG Leadership

 U. S. Government Offers Up to $102 Million for the CJNG Leadership

 

On August 5, the U.S. government, through the Narcotics Rewards Program and the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), offered up to $102 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of eight senior leaders of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Additionally, the State Department is applying visa restrictions to 65 individuals identified as family members or close associates linked to CJNG. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, together with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, unsealed indictments against senior CJNG members, collectively placing unprecedented pressure on the cartel's senior leadership. Combined with the rewards, these measures represent one of the most extensive U.S. efforts to target the leadership of a single transnational criminal organization.

 

In the indictments, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia state that "CJNG's leadership included a small group of top-tier commanders and a second tier of bosses that operated under the top-tier leaders." This command structure helps explain why U.S. authorities can concentrate pressure on a relatively small group of senior leaders despite CJNG's extensive territorial presence across Mexico.

 

The indictments also note: "The franchise model permitted each franchise group to customize its operations according to specific areas of expertise (for example, running clandestine methamphetamine labs) or market demands, provided it complied with naming, branding, and organizational structure requirements and followed the general direction of CJNG leaders. Because new franchises were easy to establish, the franchise model enabled CJNG to expand quickly." This organizational structure allows CJNG's leadership to combine centralized strategic control with decentralized operational autonomy, enabling the cartel to expand into new geographic areas and criminal markets while remaining difficult to dismantle at the local level.

 

This criminal franchise model has allowed CJNG to expand across Mexico and diversify its criminal portfolio without requiring the central leadership to directly manage every local operation. This decentralization reduces the organization's dependence on individual regional commanders and allows local cells to continue operating even when specific leaders are removed. Although highly effective, the model is not unprecedented in Mexico; a similar structure was employed by Los Zetas during their expansion in the late 2000s.

 

The following CJNG leaders are currently the subjects of U.S. rewards:

 

Capo di Tutti Capi

 

As previously reported, the U.S. government has identified dual U.S.-Mexican citizen Juan Carlos Valencia González (a.k.a. "El Pelón" or "El 03") as the principal leader of the CJNG. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction on charges related to the manufacture, transportation, and distribution of large quantities of narcotics, as well as the organization of numerous violent crimes.

 

The Captains

 

Audias Flores Silva (a.k.a. "El Jardinero") is one of the highest-ranking CJNG leaders publicly targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department. He was later apprehended on April 27, 2026, during a targeted military operation conducted by the Mexican Navy's Special Forces (SEMAR) in Nayarit. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Despite his imprisonment, the U.S. government continues to consider him a senior CJNG leader who maintains influence over vast territories across Mexico, where his network oversees the production and export of synthetic drugs to the United States.

 

Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (a.k.a. "El Sapo"), El Mencho's godson, is a senior CJNG commander who has served as the plaza boss for Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. He allegedly procured a significant portion of CJNG's weapons and trained sicarios at cartel training camps. He has also been linked to the Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán and the escuelitas (schools), where he allegedly played a central role in the forced recruitment of new members. These facilities were reportedly used as training grounds for recruits lured through false job offers before being subjected to brutal indoctrination. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

 

Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez (a.k.a. "El Chorro") is the son-in-law of the cartel's now-deceased leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), through his marriage to Jessica Johanna Oseguera González. U.S. authorities allege that he is responsible for maintaining criminal control over Pacific port of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, which serves as the principal point of entry for chemical precursors used in the production of synthetic drugs. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

Below the cartel's senior commanders, U.S. authorities also targeted a second tier of bosses responsible for enforcement, financial operations, and specialized criminal activities.

 

Lieutenants

 

Julio César Montero Pinzón (a.k.a. "El Tarjetas") directed a sophisticated international fraud scheme that targeted U.S. owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. Over the past decade, this operation allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in non-drug revenue used to finance the CJNG's drug and arms trafficking activities. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Montero Pinzón is also an alleged leader of elite hitman units that have access to military-grade weaponry and are responsible for acts of extreme violence and high-profile assassinations.

 

Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela (a.k.a. "La Firma"), a dual Colombian-Mexican national originally from Cali, Colombia, has resided in Mexico for many years.U.S. authorities identify him as a high-ranking CJNG leader operating primarily from Puerto Vallarta, where he serves as both an enforcement commander and financial coordinator. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

“Montero Pinzón and Rivera Varela founded and led a group of highly trained and heavily armed sicarios, or hitmen, known as the Grupo Elite. The Grupo Elite allegedly serves as the CJNG's enforcement arm to further the cartel's drug trafficking operations, including overseeing CJNG territories and murdering public officials and rival cartel members. Montero Pinzón and Rivera Varela allegedly had over 1,000 personnel reporting to them and ran the Guadalajara Plaza, one of the CJNG's most important territories.”

 

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco (a.k.a. "Tripa" or "RR") is identified as a commander of Grupo Élite, widely considered one of CJNG's most violent tactical branches of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He has also been publicly linked to several high-profile acts of violence in Mexico, including the 2025 assassination of influencer Valeria Márquez. Ruiz Velasco is also allegedly involved in the transportation, importation, and distribution of drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, within the United States, as well as the collection of narcotics proceeds. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

Beyond its senior and second-tier commanders, U.S. authorities are also targeting individuals who supported CJNG's financial infrastructure and revenue-generating schemes.

 

Supporters

 

Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzón served as a contadora (accountant) and worked at a CJNG-controlled central office that oversaw the operations of the call centers managed by other contadores. She helped promote the Timeshare Fraud Scheme and conceal the proceeds derived from it. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $2 million for information leading to her arrest and conviction. Her inclusion illustrates how the current U.S. campaign extends beyond CJNG's commanders and armed operators to individuals supporting the cartel's financial infrastructure and non-drug revenue streams.

 

Taken together, the rewards, indictments, and visa restrictions suggest that the United States is moving beyond targeting individual CJNG leaders toward attacking the central command structure that holds the cartel's franchise system together. CJNG's decentralized model may allow regional cells to survive the removal of individual commanders, but the current campaign appears designed to pressure the relatively small leadership group responsible for coordinating those decentralized operations.

 

If this pressure succeeds in significantly weakening CJNG's central leadership, regional cells with substantial operational autonomy could increasingly operate independently, potentially accelerating the fragmentation of the cartel into smaller regional criminal organizations. Rather than producing the immediate disappearance of CJNG, leadership decapitation could therefore result in a more fragmented criminal landscape in which former CJNG cells compete for territory, trafficking routes, and criminal markets.

 

Sources:  state.gov - justice.gov - dea.gov

 

 

 

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U.S. Government Declares CJNG the New Public Enemy Number One

On July 23, 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), working in coordination with Mexico's Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), announced a major round of sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to CJNG. The measures were designed to disrupt both the cartel's primary sources of revenue and its secondary income streams, including fuel theft, smuggling, and timeshare fraud. With these latest designations, U.S. authorities have now carried out 30 enforcement actions against more than 250 CJNG-linked individuals and entities.

Unlike previous sanctions designations, the U.S. government has identified CJNG as the second-largest fentanyl and drug trafficking organization affecting the United States. It has also designated individuals involved in sophisticated money laundering methodologies and sought to impact the cartel's entire structure by targeting as many operational components as possible, from its leadership to facilitators and enablers, including corrupt officials who financially benefited from the cartel's operations, complicit family members, and alleged money launderers.

The Criminal Leadership

 

As previously reported, the U.S. government has identified dual U.S.-Mexican citizen Juan Carlos Valencia González (a.k.a. "El Pelón" or "El 03") as the principal leader of the CJNG. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction on charges related to the manufacture, transportation, and distribution of large quantities of narcotics, as well as the organization of numerous violent crimes.

The Captains

Audias Flores Silva (a.k.a. "El Jardinero") is one of the highest-ranking CJNG leaders publicly targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department. On April 14, 2021, the Treasury Department announced his designation and offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture. He controls vast territories across Mexico, where he oversees the production and export of synthetic drugs to the United States. He was later apprehended on April 27, 2026, during a targeted military operation conducted by the Mexican Navy's Special Forces (SEMAR) in Nayarit.

Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (a.k.a. "El Sapo") is a senior CJNG commander who has served as the plaza boss for Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. He has also been linked to the Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán and the escuelitas (schools), where he allegedly played a central role in the forced recruitment of new CJNG members. These facilities were reportedly used as training grounds for recruits who were lured through fraudulent job offers before being subjected to brutal indoctrination.

Lieutenants

Julio César Montero Pinzón (a.k.a. "El Tarjetas") directed a sophisticated international fraud scheme that targeted U.S. owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. Over the past decade, this operation allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in non-drug revenue used to finance the CJNG's drug and arms trafficking activities. Montero Pinzón is also an alleged leader of elite hitman units that have access to military-grade weaponry and are responsible for acts of extreme violence and high-profile assassinations.

Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela (a.k.a. "La Firma"), a dual Colombian-Mexican national originally from Cali, Colombia, has resided in Mexico for many years. U.S. intelligence identifies him as a ruthless, high-ranking CJNG leader operating primarily from Puerto Vallarta, where he serves as both an enforcement commander and financial coordinator.

Francisco Javier Gudiño Haro (a.k.a. "La Gallina") is a high-ranking operator within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He works alongside Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela ("La Firma") as a primary enforcement leader under top cartel commander Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán ("El Sapo"). He is responsible for directing cartel payrolls and allocating weekly salaries to hitmen and lookouts (halcones).

Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, a.k.a. "El Chorro," is the son-in-law of the cartel's now-deceased leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), through his marriage to Jessica Johanna Oseguera González. He is responsible for maintaining criminal control over the strategic Pacific port of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, which serves as the principal point of entry for chemical precursors used in the production of synthetic drugs.

The Whole Picture

 

All Against "El Jardinero"

Although imprisoned in Mexico, U.S. authorities continue to assess "El Jardinero" as an active leader who maintains operational control over large portions of Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Zacatecas. From prison, he reportedly continues to direct an extensive network of subordinates, including family members, plaza bosses, and financial and logistical associates operating across multiple territories.

The Botello Family Criminal Network

One of CJNG's principal enforcement structures is the Botello family criminal network. The sanctions demonstrate that CJNG increasingly relies on family-based criminal cells to maintain territorial control and operational control. The principal CJNG enforcer within this network is Gerardo Botello Rozales (a.k.a. "El Cachas"), who is considered a senior member of the organization with long-standing ties to its leadership. El Cachas has overseen CJNG operations across multiple Mexican states and has also been linked to the Izaguirre Ranch training center. The family's criminal activities extend beyond drug trafficking to include huachicol (fuel theft). In recent years, El Cachas and his nephews, Gustavo Botello Rodríguez ("Gustavo Botello") and Wiliams Geovanni Botello Rodríguez ("Wiliams Botello"), have operated a CJNG enforcement cell.

The CJNG Fentanyl Route

CJNG Identified by U.S. authorities as the second-largest fentanyl trafficking organization affecting the United States, CJNG controls a route used to produce and export fentanyl from Michoacán. This route is controlled by CJNG enforcer Feliciano Ledezma Ramírez (a.k.a. "Chano Limones"), who is responsible for overseeing the cartel's fentanyl operations and is also involved in significant violence in the Nuevo Italia and Múgica areas of Michoacán.

Additionally, Alma Laura Mena Alvarado ("Mena") and her husband, José Mora León ("Mora"), own a logistics company engaged in diverting synthetic fentanyl precursors to the CJNG trafficking network. Mena is also responsible for overseeing and participating in huachicol (fuel theft) activities in territories controlled by CJNG. For this operation, they control two companies based in Mexico: Strong Energy S.A. de C.V., a petroleum and natural gas extraction company, and Transic Logistic S.A. de C.V., a logistics company.

Cocaine Trafficking Network

U.S. authorities are also targeting a CJNG-linked cocaine trafficking network led by twin brothers Marcial Apolinar Díaz Robles and Pedro Marcial Díaz Robles. Cocaine trafficking to the United States and international markets, ranging from Europe to Asia, remains one of the cartel's principal sources of illicit revenue. The Díaz Robles twins maintain close relationships with CJNG's inner circle and use these connections to traffic large shipments of cocaine from South America through Mexico and onward to the United States and Europe. The network's principal money launderer, Jorge Zepeda Rodríguez ("Zepeda"), is closely involved in the twins' cocaine trafficking operations.

Also designated under the sanctions are Rodolfo Alejandro Loza García (a.k.a. "El 26"), one of CJNG's principal narcotics traffickers and enforcement operators, who is engaged in acts of violence in northern Jalisco, and Francisco Noé González Ramírez (a.k.a. "El F1"), another high-ranking CJNG member engaged in drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and violence in Zacatecas.

The Financial Structure

To sustain its operations, CJNG relies on an extensive network of professional money launderers responsible for managing, processing, and returning illicit proceeds generated through the cartel's various criminal enterprises. Without these money launderers, the cartel would be unable to move large amounts of money across different jurisdictions or effectively use those funds to pay bribes, purchase weapons, and finance the payrolls of its various enforcement cells. For this reason, targeting the cartel's financial structure represents one of the most significant blows that security agencies can inflict on the organization, as it directly weakens its operational and financial capabilities.

The network consists of numerous individuals and entities that coordinate the collection of bulk cash proceeds from multiple U.S. cities and criminal activities before transferring the funds back to Mexico and ultimately returning them to the cartel's leadership. Through this scheme, the network has allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars annually since at least 2023.

Overall, these sanctions represent one of the largest and most comprehensive efforts undertaken by the United States against the CJNG criminal organization. Rather than focusing solely on senior leaders, the designations target the cartel's entire criminal structure, including its operational commanders, logistics networks, financial facilitators, family-based criminal networks, and revenue-generating activities. This approach reflects a broader strategy implemented by the U.S. government to disrupt the organization's ability to sustain its criminal operations while also exposing and targeting its financial and political support networks. Instead of concentrating exclusively on individual leaders, this strategy recognizes that dismantling the CJNG requires targeting the organization as a whole, since its operational model does not rely on a single individual to control all of the cartel's activities.

 

Sources: Treasury.gov; OFAC; OFAC; State.gov; fbi.gov

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In Accepting Life Sentence, Cartel Boss ‘El Mayo’ Urges Young People Not to Follow His Path

Reposted from Mexico News Daily

Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García, the Sinaloa Cartel co-founder who was arrested in 2024 after he was kidnapped in Mexico and flown to the United States, was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. on Monday, 11 months after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges.

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Who is “Carlitos Rugrats”?

 Who is “Carlitos Rugrats”?

 

Carlos Páez Pereda, a.k.a. "Carlitos" or "Carlitos Rugrats," born on September 27, 1995, is a high-ranking lieutenant within the Mayito Flaco faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. Before the Sinaloa Cartel civil war erupted, he began his criminal career by carrying out assassinations and other violent acts on behalf of René Arzate García, a.k.a. "La Rana," operating primarily in the Mexicali Valley under the Sinaloa Cartel.

 

Little is known about Carlitos before his emergence as one of the Sinaloa Cartel's high-ranking figures during the civil war. His rise followed the assassination of Juan Luis Castro Morales, the former commander and chief of sicarios for "Los Chapitos," on January 6, 2025, an operation attributed to his armed wing, "Los Rugrats."

 

The group's branding derives from the cartoon character Carlitos Baldosa, known in English as Chuckie Finster from Rugrats. Under this identity, Carlitos rose within the organization and consolidated his position as a trusted member of the Mayito Flaco faction.

 

The Big Prize

 

On July 3, 2025, authorities in the Dominican Republic—including the Policía Nacional and the Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas (DNCD), in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—launched a major operation targeting the Mayito Flaco faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, its armed wing known as "Los Rugrats," and several of its senior members: Carlos Alberto Páez Pereda, Luis Alfonso Páez Pereda, Daniel Hiram Jáquez Ortega, and César Eduardo González Zavala.

 

During 2024, the Dominican Republic seized 37.7 tons of cocaine. Most of those seizures occurred at the Port of Caucedo, a strategic maritime hub located in Boca Chica, approximately 15 miles (25 km) east of Santo Domingo. The country's largest cocaine seizure, totaling 9.8 tons, involved a shipment originating in Colombia while en route to the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. It was discovered inside a shipping container at the Port of Caucedo near the capital, Santo Domingo. These seizures underscore the strategic importance of the Dominican Republic as a key transit hub within the cocaine trafficking routes linking South America and Europe.

 

Given that no major drug trafficking routes were previously known to be under "Carlitos'" control, this rapid rise appears to have been granted directly by Mayito Flaco in recognition of the loyalty demonstrated during the Sinaloa Cartel civil war and the significant blow inflicted on Los Chapitos by "Los Rugrats." It also appears to have been intended to help finance the costly conflict still unfolding in Sinaloa. More broadly, it suggests that the Mayito Flaco faction, despite the schism within the cartel, prefers to outsource services to trusted associates instead of trying to control everything directly, which suggests its great capacity to rebuild itself and expand its operations into foreign markets.

The Hunting Begins

 

On September 18, 2025, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Carlitos, designating him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The action also targeted five individuals and 15 companies connected to the Mayito Flaco faction and one of the principal drug trafficking networks operating along the southern corridor linking Sinaloa, Sonora, and Baja California, the Sinaloa Cartel's primary synthetic drug trafficking route into the United States.

 

In this designation, U.S. authorities identified "Carlitos" as the leader of the armed wing "Los Rugrats," as well as a fentanyl producer and one of the principal narcotics traffickers operating in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The designation also included Juan José Ponce Félix (a.k.a. Jesús Alexandro Sánchez Félix, commonly known as "El Ruso"), another key figure in the fentanyl trafficking network.

 

The Major Leagues

 

On July 7, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California indicted "Carlitos" on charges of narcoterrorism and providing material support to terrorism for his role in trafficking large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the United States. Prosecutors also alleged that he operated "a prolific manufacturing and distribution network for the Mayo Zambada faction of the Sinaloa Cartel" and enforced the cartel's operations in Sinaloa and Tijuana "through murder, kidnappings, and other violent activity, using a group of armed fighters and hitmen."

 

Based on publicly available information, "Carlitos" appears to manage and control a portion of the fentanyl trafficking corridor into the United States. His role spans multiple stages of the fentanyl supply chain: receiving synthetic precursors from Asia through the Port of Manzanillo, Colima; overseeing fentanyl cooking in Sinaloa; moving M30 fentanyl pills through Sinaloa and Sonora for storage in Baja California; and ultimately trafficking them into California.

 

What's Next for "Carlitos" and "Los Rugrats"?

 

The United States' commitment to reducing the flow of fentanyl suggests that, once Carlitos emerged as a significant figure in the fentanyl route into the United States, the security agencies showed a very quick response by identifying and designating him and his principal associates with narcoterrorism. Combined with the upcoming U.S. elections, this pressure is likely to remain focused on fentanyl trafficking networks operating in Mexico.

 

Even if Carlitos is killed or captured by the Mexican government, his legacy will prevail. Los Rugrats have demonstrated considerable resilience by controlling multiple stages of the international drug trafficking supply chain—from receiving cocaine shipments from South America and send them to Europe, to manufacturing fentanyl in Sinaloa and trafficking it into the United States—while maintaining an armed wing of hitmen specializing in urban warfare. Collectively, these capabilities position Los Rugrats among the Sinaloa Cartel's most significant criminal organizations.

 

Sources:  justice.gov - fbi.gov - dea.gov - Pie de Nota - treasury.gov - insightcrime.org - dncd.gob.do

 

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U.S. State Dept Designates Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A burned out vehicle where nine members of the Lebaron family were killed by La Linea in 2019.

The U.S. Department of State yesterday designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), bringing the total number of Mexican criminal groups on the list to eight.

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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

 

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