A mugshot of Ruben "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," beside graffiti depicting the letters of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel covering the facade of an abandoned home in El Limoncito in the Michoacán state of Mexico. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP Images; Drug Enforcement Administration)
Rather than simply seeking to mitigate the harms of cartel activity, Bondi said the DOJ would be suspending red tape to "empower federal prosecutors throughout the country to work urgently with the Department of Homeland Security and other parts of the government toward the goal of eliminating these threats to U.S. sovereignty."
The memo said the DOJ would be prioritizing cartel managers and leaders.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, CJNG is one of the most ruthless cartels in Mexico and a key supplier of fentanyl to the U.S., making it "one of the most significant threats to the public health, public safety, and national security of the United States."
The DEA said CJNG operates vast distribution networks within the U.S., with associates, facilitators and affiliates operating in "almost all 50 U.S. states." The DEA also said CJNG has been increasing its involvement in non-drug crime, including extortion, taxing human smuggling and fraud schemes.
A 2019 DOJ statement to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs states that CJNG is "one of the most powerful and fastest growing cartels" and operates key drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Atlanta. The Department of National Intelligence estimates the group has approximately 15,000–20,000 members.
CARTELS OUTGUN POLICE: ROCKET LAUNCHERS SEIZED IN EL MENCHO RAID SPOTLIGHT CJNG FIREPOWER
The Drug Enforcement Administration in Atlanta seized more over 1,000 pounds of meth linked to the violent "Cartel Jalisco New Generation" in September. (Fox News)
In August, the administration secured the extradition of another 26 high-ranking cartel leaders from Mexico, including Abigael González Valencia, another brother-in-law of El Mencho known as "El Cuini," who was the head of a major money-laundering organization for the cartel.
Not letting up, the next month, the DEA and Department of Homeland Security launched a massive, nationwide weeklong operational surge targeting CJNG distribution networks. The effort led to 670 arrests and the seizure of $18 million in currency and $29 million in assets. The operation also resulted in the seizure of 92.4 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 1,157,672 counterfeit fentanyl pills.
Announcing the seizures, DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said the administration "is targeting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as what it is—a terrorist organization—at every level, from its leadership to its distribution networks and everyone in between."
MEXICO FLIES 37 CARTEL MEMBERS TO US UNDER PRESSURE FROM TRUMP ADMIN
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-total-elimination-strategy-paved-way-fall-cartel-kingpin-el-mencho