Photo: Robert Michael / AFP / Getty Images
By: The Opinion Updated 12 Dec 2022, 9: 23 am EST
José González Valencia, alias “El Chepa”, was an important member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
(CJNG), in addition to being the brother-in-law of the top leader of the organization, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”.
However, González Valencia’s criminal career ended in 2017 when was arrested in Brazil and later extradited to the United States in November of 2017.
Now, a year later, “El Chepa” pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine on US soil, as revealed by the Department of Justice , after celebrating that the drug trafficker and leader of the criminal cell known as “Los Cuinis” has pleaded guilty in federal court in the District of Columbia.
“Of according to court documents, between 2006 and October 2017, González Valencia was the leader of Los Cuinis, an international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large amounts of cocaine from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and more towards the United States”, reads the statement.
According to the US Government, Los Cuinis are closely linked to the Jalisco Cartel Nueva Generación in Mexico, and both groups form one of the “largest, most dangerous and most prolific drug trafficking organizations in Mexico.”
By pleading guilty , the detainee of 23 years could avoid a life sentence , but it would not save you from a long prison sentence. The sentencing hearing will be held on April 7, 2021.
“El Chepa” was arrested in December 2006 by the Brazilian police in Fortaleza, in the northeast of the country, and at the time of his capture he was on vacation with his family and was carrying an identity card issued by Bolivia in the name of Jaffet Arias Becerra.
According to the DEA, which offered a reward of up to 5 million dollars for information that would help his capture, González Valencia commanded the operations and payments of the CJNG from the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia , where he fled from the Mexican authorities after they arrested to his brother Abigael in 2006.
In addition, was in charge of the security of “El Mencho ”, the most wanted drug trafficker in Mexico since the arrest of “Chapo”. Despite the fact that his work in the CJNG was mainly financial, he is also accused of being the mastermind of a series of homicides, including state agents.
You may also like:
– Mexico’s Prosecutor’s Office investigates possible links of the CJNG with judges and magistrates.
– The three bloodiest cells of the Jalisco Nueva Cartel Generation.