DALLAS — The killing of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), has reverberated across the U.S., including North Texas, where the cartel has been linked to major drug trafficking operations.
“El Mencho,” 59, was considered one of the world’s most wanted fugitives by the DEA. He founded the CJNG in 2009 and led the organization for over a decade, establishing ties to organized crime that spanned more than 30 years.
In 2024, a federal case in Dallas highlighted the cartel’s reach into the U.S. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas sentenced a dozen CJNG members for trafficking nearly 200 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine, valued at up to $9.9 million. The drugs had been smuggled from Mexico into Dallas hidden inside a semi-truck’s diesel tank, destined for distribution in Oklahoma.
A key figure in the operation, Francisco Javier Rodriguez Arreola, aka “Taquito,” coordinated shipments, arranged drivers, planned routes, and worked with “plaza bosses” who reported directly to El Mencho. Rodriguez Arreola received a 40-year federal prison sentence, while other members were sentenced to 55 to 480 months for drug and money laundering crimes.
Authorities also seized 650 kilograms of meth, 17 firearms, and more than $220,000 in cash as part of the investigation, underscoring the cartel’s extensive operations in North Texas.
