A federal jury convicted Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, also known as El Menchito, today of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine while knowing and intending that they would be imported into the United States. He was also found guilty of using, carrying, and brandishing firearms, including destructive devices, in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy. The verdict followed a two-week jury trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between 2007 and 2017, Oseguera-Gonzalez, 34, led an international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States. Oseguera-Gonzalez was the second in command of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), based in the State of Jalisco in Mexico. The CJNG is one of the most dangerous drug cartels in Mexico. Oseguera-Gonzalez personally used firearms, destructive devices, murder, and kidnapping to control the drug trafficking organization. He also ordered his subordinates to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter so that he could escape capture by Mexican law enforcement.
"El Menchito led the Jalisco Cartel’s efforts to use murder, kidnapping, and torture to build the Cartel into a self-described ‘empire’ by manufacturing fentanyl and flooding the United States with massive quantities of lethal drugs," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "Today, fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced."
"Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez pioneered the manufacturing of fentanyl in Mexico to help build his father’s Jalisco Cartel into one of the world’s most powerful drug syndicates," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "His crimes caused horrific violence and death in the United States, Mexico, and around the globe."
"As second-in-command of CJNG, Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez used extreme violence to traffic massive amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri.
"Today’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that the DEA will stop at nothing to investigate and dismantle criminal drug networks that threaten the safety and health of the American people," said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
From 2012 to 2015, Oseguera-Gonzalez oversaw manufacturing more than three million pounds of methamphetamine in one area of Mexico. In April 2015, he directed distributing over 55,000 pounds of cocaine. According to trial testimony from October 2013, he made plans to "do it big" with counterfeit oxycontin pills just before fentanyl became an epidemic in the United States.
Oseguera-Gonzalez was arrested by Mexican authorities on local charges in June 2015 and remained detained until his extradition to the United States in February 2020. While imprisoned in Mexico, he continued controlling CJNG operations.
Oseguera-Gonzalez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 40 years in prison with a statutory maximum penalty being life plus 30 years imprisonment. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 10th next year.
The DEA Los Angeles Field Division investigated this case with assistance from multiple agencies including U.S Marshals Service along with significant contributions from various departments within Justice Department ensuring successful extradition securing vital evidence leading up towards conviction process
Acting Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni alongside Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef Jonathan R Hornok Lernik Begian prosecuted under Criminal Divisions Narcotic Dangerous Drug Section marking another milestone effort combating organized crime under OCDETF initiatives aiming disrupting highest-level criminal organizations threatening US interests worldwide