Jalisco New Generation Cartel Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking

Wed Apr 08 2026 15:39:18 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Érick Valencia Salazar, co-founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, has changed his plea to guilty on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine following his arrest and extradition.

Érick Valencia Salazar, known as 'El 85', has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a significant development for the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel. His plea follows an extradition to the U.S. where he faces charges of conspiring to distribute over 5 kilograms of cocaine. The co-founder of CJNG, Valencia Salazar was involved in building the cartel's violent reputation and is set to be sentenced on July 31. This case highlights ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and cartel violence in Mexico and beyond.

The co-founder of the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Érick Valencia Salazar, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.

Valencia Salazar, known as El 85, was captured by the Mexican army in 2022 in the state of Jalisco and was among a group of 29 alleged drug lords extradited to the United States in February 2025 to stand trial.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said Valencia Salazar helped build CJNG into a ruthless organisation that uses violence as a business model - murdering for control in Mexico while flooding the United States with poison.

His sentencing is scheduled on 31 July.

In a statement, the DOJ noted that Valencia Salazar had changed his earlier not guilty plea to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 5kg or more of cocaine to the United States. The mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in prison.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful criminal organisations founded in Mexico.

In February, its members unleashed a wave of violence across 20 Mexican states after news spread that its leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as El Mencho, had died as a result of injuries sustained during his capture by Mexican security forces.

Last year, the US President Donald Trump designated the CJNG as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), intensifying efforts to combat these drug cartels that threaten American safety and international stability.

Furthermore, Trump pressured Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to take stronger actions against criminal groups in Mexico, which Sheinbaum linked to the commitment of armed forces to pursue notorious drug lords.