Mexican authorities arrested the wife of one of the top drug lords in the nation–a man blamed in large part for spreading cartel violence and the distribution of significant portions of drugs in the U.S. opioid crisis.
Over the weekend, the Mexican Navy arrested Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia, the wife of Ruben Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the head of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The arrest took place in the ritzy Paseo Royal Country neighborhood in Zapopan, Jalisco, without any violence.
Breitbart Texas obtained a video of the moment when Mexican authorities arrested Gonzalez Valencia outside a convenience store. The Mexican federal warrant, signed on May 23, accuses Gonzalez Valencia of money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity. Soon after, Gonzalez Valencia was loaded onto a helicopter and flown to a federal detention center.
The U.S. Department of Treasury considers Gonzalez Valencia a kingpin and identifies her as a key money laundering operator in her husband’s cartel. In addition to freezing any known assets in the U.S., federal authorities also prohibited any companies and citizens from doing business with her entities.
Valencia’s husband, more commonly known as “El Mencho,” became one of the most powerful drug lords in Mexico, where his cartel earned a reputation for ruthless methods. As Breitbart Texas reported, intelligence reports point to CJNG hiring Colombian paramilitary forces and adopting their tactics in the creation of improvised explosive devices or IEDs.
Under El Mencho, CJNG and its money laundering wing, “Los Cuinis,” became one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. Explosive growth placed the CJNG in direct competition with the famed Sinaloa Cartel for control of Mexico’s largest cities and the U.S. drug market.
In 2015, Mexican authorities tried to apprehend El Mencho, however, his forces were able to shoot down a law enforcement helicopter in a series of gun battles and blockades which allowed the drug lord to escape.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Jose Luis Lara, from the Cartel Chronicles project, contributed to this report. Lara is one of the founding leaders of the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacan.