Co-founder of Jalisco New Generation drug cartel pleads guilty

Érick Valencia Salazar was among a group of 29 alleged drug lords extradited to the US from Mexico. Co-founder of Jalisco New Generation drug cartel pleads guilty What the killing of drug lord 'El Mencho' means for Mexico Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Érick Valencia Salazar was arrested in Mexico in 2012 but released five years later, he was re-arrested in 2022 In this file photo from 2012, Mexican soldiers are seen escorting Valencia Salazar after his arrest that year. He is wearing a high-vis vest over a dark hoodie and a white T-shirt. The two soldiers behind him are wearing helmets, dark glasses, and balaclavas. They are armed and are wearing bullet-proof vests. The co-founder of the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Érick Valencia Salazar, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced. Valencia Salazar, known as "El 85", was captured by the Mexican army in 2022 in the state of Jalisco and was among a group of 29 alleged drug lords extradited to the United States in February 2025 to stand trial. Valencia Salazar, known as "El 85", was captured by the Mexican army in 2022 in the state of Jalisco and was among a group of 29 alleged drug lords extradited to the United States in February 2025 to stand trial The Drug Enforcement Administration said Valencia Salazar "helped build CJNG into a ruthless organisation that uses violence as a business model - murdering for control in Mexico while flooding the United States with poison". In a statement, the DOJ said that Valencia Salazar had changed his earlier not guilty plea to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 5kg or more of cocaine to the United States. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in prison. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful criminal organisations founded in Mexico. In February, its members unleashed a wave of violence across 20 Mexican states after news spread that its leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as "El Mencho", had died as a result of injuries sustained during his capture by Mexican security forces. Last year, the US President Donald Trump designated the CJNG as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO). The Trump administration has stepped up its battle against the cartels, which it says threaten "the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere". Trump has also pressured his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbaum, to do more to combat Mexico-based criminal groups such as the CJNG. The capture and subsequent death of "El Mencho" was hailed by Sheinbaum as proof of the armed forces' commitment to track down Mexico's most notorious drug lords. BBC on what the killing of drug lord 'El Mencho' means for Mexico A man in a blue shirt speaking to camera on the left and a red and white wanted poster on the right Mourners - some of them wearing surgical masks - look on as a gold-coloured casket containing the body of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," is displayed during his funeral at the Recinto de la Paz cemetery in Zapopan, Mexico, on 2 March, 2026. Mexican drug lord 'El Mencho' buried in golden coffin A man rides a bicycle past a burned vehicle in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco State, Mexico, on February 24, 2026. Threat of further violence looms after Mexican cartel rampage Mexico has seen battles between cartel members and police after Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader 'El Mencho' was killed on Sunday. Locals in Mexico City are unhappy about being priced out of central neighbourhoods. The US is accusing its southern neighbour of breaking a long-held water sharing agreement. The Orion spacecraft is expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego on 10 April. The proposed new rule would end decades of mandatory self-registration for Selective Service in the US. The state department has also authorised non-emergency embassy staff to leave on security grounds. Esten Bennet has been jailed for more than five years after supplying drugs in Telford and Wales. Only a few vessels have crossed the strait since the US-Iran ceasefire deal, according to BBC Verify analysis.