02/10/14 — In the early morning January 30, Mexican authorities detained Rubén Oseguera González (23), the son of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. Rubén, known as “El Menchito,” or “El Junior,” was considered to be the cartel’s number two in command behind his father, “El Mencho.” El Menchito served a number of roles for the cartel in addition to being its financial coordinator. According to the executive secretary of the National Public Security System (Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública), Monte Alejandro Rubido García, he was also likely “in charge of buying and selling drugs produced in South America,” “ordering the execution of those who refused to collaborate with the organization,” and “[making] sure rival organizations were kept out of [the states of] Colima and Jalisco.” The CJNG, which largely traffics methamphetamine and synthetic drugs in western Mexico, maintains an alliance with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Although no casualties were reported during the operation, El Menchito’s arrest did not come easy. A helicopter accompanied police and dozens of Mexican soldiers from both the Secretary of National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, SEDENA) and the Secretary of the Navy (Secretaría de Marina, SEMAR) that were deployed to Zapopan, an area in the suburbs of Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco. The operation partially obstructed access to roads when presumed members of the CJNG responded by setting fire to several vehicles, including a truck transporting milk and a public transportation bus. Police reported the alleged CJNG members also fired at vehicles passing by. As the events unfolded, Jalisco’s Public Prosecutor Luis Carlos Nájera Gutiérrez de Velasco urged civilians to stay calm and reassured them that vehicular access would remain open. When the operation concluded around 10:00 a.m. that morning, Jalisco Governor Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz announced, “The [Guadalajara Metropolitan Zone] operations have ended. Citizens can return to their normal activities.”
In all, authorities arrested five individuals, including El Menchito, for alleged involvement in organized crime, and seized arms, weapons, and cash at the scene. The suspects were taken to the Assistant Attorney General’s Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime (Subprocuraduría Especializada en Investigación de Delincuencia Organizada, SEIDO), and then transferred to the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) for holding while investigations continue.
Sources:
“Mexico arrests Jalisco New Generation drug lord El Menchito.” BBC News. January 31, 2014.
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