Inside the Trump administration’s ‘total elimination’ reputation war against ‘El Mencho’

Government documents reveal the fall of drug lord El Mencho over the weekend was the culmination of an aggressive, more than a year-long “total elimination” strategy pursued by the Trump administration against the brutal Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which is present in nearly all 50 US states.

Ruben “Nemesio” Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the CJNG, was killed Sunday in a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Mexico, authorities said. Although the work was carried out by Mexican forces, the United States laid the groundwork, making the fall of El Mencho possible.

On the first day of President Donald Trump in office, he signed an order directing the Department of State to designate several criminal groups and international criminal groups “foreign terrorist organizations” (FTOs), a term that opens military surveillance and prosecution of “material support”. Although less well known than MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, the CJNG was one of the groups designated for FTO by the administration.

Shortly after Trump’s executive order, on Feb. 5, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a policy memorandum to all employees of the Department of Justice, announcing a “fundamental change in thinking and approach” to cartels and international criminal organizations in a policy of “total elimination.”

Instead of simply seeking to mitigate the damage to corporate operations, Bondi said the DOJ will stop red tape to “empower prosecutors across the country to urgently work with the Department of Homeland Security and other parts of the government to eliminate these threats to US sovereignty.”

The memo said the DOJ will prioritize corporate executives and leaders.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, CJNG is one of the most violent companies in Mexico and a key supplier of fentanyl to the US, making it “one of the most significant threats to public health, public safety, and the national security of the United States.”

The DEA said CJNG operates large distribution networks within the US, with partners, promoters and affiliates operating in “nearly all 50 US states.” The DEA also said the CJNG has been increasing its involvement in non-drug crimes, including racketeering, tax-trafficking and racketeering schemes.

A 2019 DOJ statement to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs says CJNG is “one of the most powerful and fastest-growing companies” and operates key drug distribution centers in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta. The National Intelligence Service estimates that the group has approximately 15,000–20,000 members.

CARTELS OUTGUN POLICE: EL MENCHO RAID SPOTLIGHT CJNG FIREPOWER ROCKETS SEIZED

A soldier stands next to a burnt-out car after it was set on fire in Coinzio, Michoacán state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.” (AP Photo/Armando Solis)

Recognizing the threat posed by the CJNG, the administration announced major consequences more than one month after Trump’s inauguration. On February 27, Bondi announced that the US had secured the extradition of 29 high-ranking leaders from Mexico, including high-level CJNG leaders, a key moneylender and a member of the El Mencho family. Among those released and indicted was Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “Tony Montana,” El Mencho’s brother, indicted in the District of Columbia for his alleged leadership role in the group.

On March 7, El Mencho’s son and heir, Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, known as “El Menchito,” was sentenced to life in prison and 30 years in a Washington, DC prison and ordered to forfeit $6 billion in drug money. El Menchito was returned to the US during the first Trump administration in 2020.

The following week, on March 15, the president upped the ante again against the cartels by designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, authorizing the use of advanced military equipment to prevent cross-border trafficking. This move had a major impact on CJNG’s drug-trafficking activities.

June was another significant month in the fight against CJNG. El Mencho’s brother-in-law, José González Valencia, “La Chepa,” was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Another high-ranking leader, José González Valencia, founder of CJNG’s financial unit “Los Cuinis,” was also sentenced to 30 years.

That same month, the Treasury Department used the FEND Off Fentanyl Act for the first time to cut off three major Mexican banks, CIBanco, Intercam and Vector, from the U.S. dollar system for allegedly laundering CJNG money.

US DRUG DEATHS PLUMMET 20% AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SLACKS DOWN ON SOUTH CHALLENGE

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta seized more than 1,000 kilograms of meth linked to the violent “Cartel Jalisco New Generation” in September. (Fox Stories)

In August, the administration obtained the release of 26 other high-level cartel leaders from Mexico, including Abigael González Valencia, another brother-in-law of El Mencho known as “El Cuini,” who was the head of the cartel’s largest financial organization.

Undeterred, next month, the DEA and the Department of Homeland Security launched a week-long operation targeting CJNG distribution networks. The effort resulted in the arrest of 670 people and the seizure of $18 million in cash and $29 million in property. The operation also led to the seizure of 92.4 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 1,157,672 counterfeit fentanyl pills.

Announcing the seizure, DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said the authorities “targeted the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for what it is—a terrorist organization—at every level, from its leadership to its distribution networks and everyone in between.”

MEXICO FLYING 37 CARTEL MEMBERS FROM US UNDER PRESSURE FROM TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt says homicides are at their lowest in history as Trump tightens arrests, deportations and crackdowns on gangs, citing new crime data. (Alex Brandon/AP)

“Let this serve as a warning,” Cole said at the time. “The DEA will not back down … This focused operation is just the beginning – we will continue this fight until this threat is defeated.”

By the end of 2025, the DEA reported seizing a total of 47 million fentanyl pills, enough to represent more than 369 million lethal doses, from cartel traffickers, including CJNG.

In early 2026, the administration again increased its focus on CJNG and other cartels. The Department of Defense established the Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel (JIATF-CC) under the US Northern Command as the “next step” in a government-wide approach to “target, disrupt, and disrupt the operations of organizations that pose a threat to the United States along the US-Mexico border.”

On February 19, 72 hours before the Tapalpa raid, the Treasury Department authorized Kovay Gardens, a CJNG-controlled property in Puerto Vallarta, to cut off $300 million in income flowing to the cart fund.

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After the attack, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed that the US had provided intelligence assistance to the Mexican government to assist in the operation.

Leavitt added that Trump “has been very clear that the United States will ensure that narcoterrorists … are forced to face the wrath of justice that is long overdue.”

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