For nearly two decades, Juan Carlos Valencia González built power inside Mexico’s Jalisco Cartel while staying almost invisible to the public.
Now the US government says he runs the whole organization. But his rise to the top of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) following the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” would be a remarkable turn for a man whose defining trait has long been his ability to stay out of the spotlight.
The US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) recently updated its Antiterrorism Guide with Valencia González—long known by the alias “El 03″—signled out as the CJNG’s top leader.
SEE ALSO: Juan Carlos Valencia González Profile
“CJNG has a hierarchical command structure in which regional leaders manage day-to-day operations for the group’s overall leader, US person Juan Carlos Valencia González,” the agency said.
The update comes several months after the February 2026 killing of El Mencho during a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco. His death provoked a short wave of extreme violence that spread across at least 20 Mexican states and included the killing of dozens of National Guard members.
The Man Behind ‘El 03’
Valencia González was born on September 12, 1984, in Santa Ana, California, giving him dual US-Mexican nationality. He is reportedly the son of Milenio Cartel founder Armando Valencia Cornelio, alias “Juanito,” and Rosalinda González Valencia—a member of the infamous Valencia family that runs the Cuinis, the CJNG’s principal money laundering wing. Becoming El Mencho’s stepson through his mother’s relationship with the late CJNG founder placed him at the junction of the group’s armed and financial operations.
SEE ALSO: What’s Next for Mexico’s CJNG After the Killing of ‘El Mencho’?
US authorities have tracked Valencia González since at least 2007, according to court documents. His position inside the organization reportedly grew after the 2015 arrest of his half-brother, Rubén Oseguera González, alias “El Menchito.” He allegedly filled different roles his half-brother left behind and went on to found and coordinate the Grupo Élite—also known as “Fuerzas Especiales Mencho”—one of the CJNG’s many armed wings. Mexican authorities have tied him to CJNG operations in Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, Nayarit, and beyond, according to local press reports.
US prosecutors in the District of Columbia indicted Valencia González in October 2020 on drug trafficking and weapons charges. Mexican authorities have also linked him to specific acts of violence, including a 2022 kidnapping of two Mexican soldiers in Puerto Vallarta and armed clashes and blockades in Jalisco. Narcocorridos by several popular musicians helped cement his public image within Mexico’s criminal folklore as “El 03″—or the CJNG’s number three man.
Is Juan Carlos Valencia González CJNG’s New Leader?
Despite the United States’ move to signal Valencia González as the new supreme leader of the CJNG, the group is actually structured around several different regional powerbrokers.
There was no direct heir to El Mencho following his death earlier this year. His son, “El Menchito,” is serving a life sentence in the United States for drug trafficking, which made his stepson Valencia González the next logical pick on paper.
But Valencia González is far from the only regional leader with the standing to make a push for control. Among the most influential lieutenants remaining is Ricardo Ruíz Velasco, alias “Doble R,” who reportedly leads one of the CJNG’s elite armed wings in the group’s home state of Jalisco, putting him at the more militarized end of the organization’s internal spectrum.
SEE ALSO: Who Is ‘El Jardinero,’ the CJNG Power Broker Arrested in Mexico?
There is also Heraclio Guerrero Martínez, alias “Tío Lako,” who allegedly oversees a significant share of the CJNG’s fuel theft operations—a business the group has helped build into a major transnational racket over the past two decades.
Gonzalo Mendoza Gaitán, alias “El Sapo,” has also been named among the CJNG’s top logistics coordinators, allegedly managing the acquisition of Chinese precursor chemicals used to produce methamphetamine—one of the group’s central criminal activities.
The naming of Valencia González fits comfortably into the US government’s narrative on the CJNG in Mexico, but InSight Crime’s on-the-ground investigations suggest the distribution of power within the criminal group is far more complex.
Crucially, it has been largely business as usual for the CJNG’s criminal operations after the short disruption caused by El Mencho’s death, and the lack of extreme internal violence suggests that the organization has continued apace despite the death of its historic leader.