Key Mexican cartel member with ties to a billionaire fugitive extradited to US – Courier Journal

El Mencho, Rubn Oseguera Cervantes, is the leader of Mexico's Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin and the most wanted man in the Western Hemisphere. Louisville Courier Journal

A powerfulMexican cartel member with ties to one of America's most wanted narcotics bosses is now in U.S. custody, a law enforcement source tells The Courier Journal.

Gerardo Gonzlez Valencia, a member of the wealthy Mexican cartel Los Cuinis, is in the process of being extraditedfrom South America to America toface federal drug trafficking charges.

In April 2016, afederal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Gonzlez Valencia known as "Lalo" or "Flaco,"Spanish for skinnyand he soon wascapturedin Uruguay.

He is charged with conspiracy to distribute at least 5 kilogramsof cocaineand 500 grams of methamphetamine for importation intotheUnited States, according to the indictment.

Gonzlez Valencia is the brother-in-law to a Mexican billionaire andtop U.S. target, Rubn Oseguera Cervantes. Cervantes, known as "El Mencho,"is the leader of the global drug empire Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, based in Guadalajara.

More: Who is El Mencho? He's the most powerful drug kingpin you've never heard of

The U.S. is offering a $10 million reward to capture El Mencho, whose cartel is blamed with flooding the U.S. with fentanyl, methamphetamine and other deadly drugs.

Los Cuinis cartel member Gerardo Gonzlez Valencia, a brother-in-law to one of America's top targets, the billionaire drug kingpin known as "El Mencho." Gonzlez Valencia was brought from Uruguay to the U.S. this week to face federal methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking charges in D.C.(Photo: Special to the Courier Journal)

Los Cuinis is an affiliate of CJNG and is led by several brothers of El Mencho's wife, Rosalinda. Together, the two powerhouseshave teamedto launder money and traffic drugs.

The U.S. went public with its plan of attack against Los Cuinis and CJNG during a national news conference in October 2018. Then-U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced charges against Gerardo Gonzalez Valencia, then 41, along with several others and emphasized the hunt for El Mencho, doubling hisprevious $5 million bounty.

Sessions announced the "kingpin" designation of El Mencho and Gerardo's older brother, Los Cuinis' leader, Abigael Gonzlez Valencia, then 45.

Mexican officials arrested Abigael, known as "Boss," in 2015 and he has fought extradition to the U.S. Another brother, Jose, was arrested in Brazil in 2017.

El Mencho remains a fugitive. U.S. drug agents believe he remains in hiding in Mexico, protected by an army of heavily armed mercenaries.

Why this cartel matters to Americans: A ruthless Mexican drug lords empire is devastating families with its grip on small-town USA

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Cartel boss' son extradited to U.S.: El Menchito, the son of feared Mexican drug lord El Mencho, faces US judge

The Courier Journal profiled El Menchoand CJNG in a special report last year that highlighted how the fast-growing cartel made its way into small-town America, including cities across Kentucky.

The investigation found the cartel operating in at least 35 states and the territory of Puerto Rico.

El Mencho's son, Rubn Oseguera Gonzlez known as "El Menchito" or Lil' Mencho was extradited to the U.S. earlier this year and is awaiting trial in D.C. on drug charges.

In another victory for the U.S. in the war on CJNG, cartel member Jess Contreras Arceo was extradited from Mexicoin December. Known as "Canasto," heis charged with drug trafficking and money laundering in Virginia.

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced indictments against top U.S. targets in Mexico -- the CJNG cartel and its affiliate Los Cuinis in October, 2018. This week, another key cartel member has been extradited to the U.S.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

U.S. agents also were investigating El Mencho's daughter, Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzlez. They didn't have to extradite her. She came from her home in Mexico to the U.S. to see her brother in court in February and was arrested on her own charges.

Another U.S. attack on Mexican cartel: US makes nationwide arrests, including 3 in Louisville, of Mexican drug cartel members

Jessica, known as "La Negra," and her brother El Menchitowere born in California, making them dual citizens of the U.S. and Mexico.

That allowed prosecutors to take an unusual approach to arrest her, charging her with associating with businesses linked to her father's criminal organization, CJNG or Los Cuinis. The U.S. Treasury Department had blacklisted the businesses, making it illegal for an American to patronize or associate with them.

Reporter Beth Warren: bwarren@courier-journal.com; 502-582-7164; Twitter @BethWarrenCJ. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/bethw.

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Key Mexican cartel member with ties to a billionaire fugitive extradited to US - Courier Journal