CJNG is an ultra-violent Mexico-based paramilitary cartel involved in extortion, money laundering and running a global drug trafficking network. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Gonzalez, also known as “Pelon,” is the stepson of “El Mencho” \u2014 real name Nemesio Oseguera \u2014 who was injured and captured in a military sweep in Mexico’s Jalisco state in February and died of his injuries en route to the hospital.<\/p>\n
The killing sparked a wave of violence across Mexico, with the cartel setting up highway blockades and setting fire to vehicles and buildings in 20 of the country’s 32 states.<\/p>\n
More than 70 people died in that violence, including 25 National Guard members<\/a>.<\/p>\n In April, Mexican authorities said they had captured two top criminals, including Audias Flores Silva<\/a> (alias “The Gardener”), described as Oseguera’s right-hand man and expected by many to succeed him as the head of CJNG. Silva, who was\u00a0arrested on April 27<\/a>\u00a0while hiding in a ditch in the western state of Nayarit, was identified by the U.S. Treasury as one of Gonzalez’s deputies.<\/p>\n The U.S. Treasury said in a statement that Thursday’s action “disrupts a wide range of criminal activities benefiting CJNG across multiple Mexican states.”<\/p>\n In February 2025, the Trump administration\u00a0designated the cartel<\/a>\u00a0as a foreign terrorist organization.<\/p>\n “Today’s action strikes Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion’s leadership, financiers, and criminal networks, denying the cartel the resources it uses to traffic fentanyl, terrorize communities, and threaten American lives,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.<\/p>\n The statement added that Gonzalez is charged in a U.S. federal drug trafficking case in Washington, with the U.S. State Department offering a reward of up to $5 million<\/a> for information leading to his arrest or conviction. According to the State Department, Gonzalez was born in Santa Ana, California, on Sept. 12, 1984.<\/p>\n Juan Carlos Gonzalez,\u00a0 also known as “Pelon” <\/p>\n U.S. State Department<\/p>\n The new sanctions target a wide range of individuals and companies that Washington says are linked to CJNG’s leadership through business or family ties and that are used by the cartel to launder or conceal their assets.<\/p>\n They also target an alleged cocaine trafficking network and a group of individuals and companies accused of involvement in Mexico’s huge fuel smuggling sector.<\/p>\n Last month,\u00a0 the U.S. Treasury announced a new bank alert<\/a> targeting the cartel. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two men and nine companies involved in transportation, financial services and real estate, accused of being tied to a cartel-linked\u00a0fuel theft ring<\/a>\u00a0intended to evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel.<\/p>\n The Associated Press<\/p>\n contributed to this report.\n <\/p>\n \n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n \n Go deeper with The Free Press\n <\/p>\n![\"pelon-20211201-091431.jpg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/pelon-20211201-091431.jpg#.jpeg\")
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