The United States on Thursday announced a series of sanctions on more than 50 Mexican individuals and entities suspected of having ties to one of the country’s largest drug cartels, including the new leader of what Washington calls the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel.
Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen, took control of the group after the group’s former leader “El Mencho” was killed earlier this year, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department.
The CJNG is an extremely violent paramilitary gang based in Mexico involved in extortion, money laundering and operating global drug trafficking networks.
Gonzalez, also known as “Peron”, is the stepson of “El Mencho” whose real name is Nemesio Oseguera, who was injured and captured during a military sweep in Jalisco, Mexico, in February this year. He died of his injuries on the way to the hospital.
The killing triggered a wave of violence across Mexico, with the drug cartel blocking highways and setting fire to vehicles and buildings in 20 of the country’s 32 states.
The violence left more than 70 people dead, mostly in the state of Jalisco.
In April, Mexican authorities said they had captured two top criminals, including Audias Flores Silva, described as Oseguera’s right-hand man and expected by many to succeed him as leader of the CJNG. Silva was identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as one of Gonzalez’s deputies.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that Thursday’s actions “disrupted a series of criminal activities benefiting the CJNG in multiple Mexican states.”
The statement added that Gonzalez was charged in Washington with participating in a U.S. federal drug trafficking case, and the U.S. State Department was offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
The new sanctions target a broad range of individuals and companies that Washington says are linked to CJNG’s leadership through business or family ties and are used by the cartel to launder money or hide its assets.
Their targets also included an alleged cocaine trafficking network and a group of individuals and companies accused of being involved in Mexico’s vast fuel smuggling industry.
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