California co-founder of influential Mexican cartel admits guilt in US

A man from California who co-established one of Mexico's most influential and ruthless drug cartels confessed on Tuesday in the US to a federal drug conspiracy charge.

Erick Valencia Salazar co-created the Jalisco New Generation Cartel with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the infamous drug boss known as "El Mencho" who was killed by the Mexican military in February.

Valencia Salazar, 49, from Santa Clara, California, is facing a mandatory-minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a possible life sentence after his guilty plea in Washington, D.C., for conspiring to distribute cocaine intended for US distribution. Chief Judge James Boasberg is slated to sentence him on July 31.

Valencia Salazar was previously part of the Milenio Cartel before he and Oseguera Cervantes started the Jalisco cartel, known by its Spanish abbreviation as CJNG.

Hundreds of CJNG members were under Valencia Salazar's leadership, with responsibilities including recruitment and intelligence gathering about rival cartels, according to prosecutors.

"He also utilised information about competitors to locate and eliminate CJNG's enemies to dominate drug trafficking activities in specific areas of Mexico," stated the Justice Department in a news release.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, who leads the Justice Department's criminal division, remarked that the CJNG has caused "immeasurable harm" to the US.

"Valencia Salazar was furthering the prevalent violence in Mexico, jeopardizing people's lives and community safety, which destabilised the area and fostered crime," Duva remarked in a statement.

A grand jury brought charges against Valencia Salazar for the conspiracy in 2018. In February 2025, Mexican officials extradited him to the US as part of an initial group of 29 drug lords.

Last year, President Donald Trump's government designated the CJNG and other cartels as international terrorist groups.

Valencia Salazar was apprehended twice in Mexico. The first arrest occurred in 2012, when the military captured him in the municipality of Zapopan, close to Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state.

Five years later, he was freed from prison due to a judge citing alleged procedural errors. 

In 2022, the Army again captured him in the town of Tapalpa, the same location where "El Mencho" was captured and killed.

The US State Department had announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Valencia Salazar's apprehension or conviction.

"El Mencho" -- who had a $15 million US reward on his head -- succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds during the military operation in February, as per the death certificate procured by The Associated Press.

A crucifix, religious candles, and a handwritten psalm were discovered in Oseguera Cervante's residence after the mission. 

Mexican authorities noted they tracked one of his romantic associates to the hideout.

The killing triggered violence in around 20 Mexican states. Over 70 individuals, including 25 Mexican National Guard members, lost their lives during the raid and subsequent skirmishes between security forces and CJNG gunmen.