Gerardo González Valencia Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking in US Court

Gerardo Gonzalez Valencia, brother-in-law of the leader of the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) and former leader of the Los Cuinis cartel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit international cocaine trafficking in a US court. He was arrested in Uruguay in 2016 and extradited to the US in 2020 and faces a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on April 6, 2023.

Los Cuinis is an international drug trafficking organization closely connected to CJNG and known for importing large quantities of cocaine into the US. The organization is considered the financial arm of CJNG and together they are one of the largest and most violent drug cartels.

Even though the lawyers for "El Mencho's" brother-in-law fought hard in a US court to get the charges against their client dropped, Gerardo González Valencia, who had been named as a former leader of the Los Cuinis cartel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic international cocaine last Thursday.

According to information from the US Department of Justice, the brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader and founder of the Jalisco Cartel, New Generation (CJNG), pleaded guilty to "one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowingly and with the intent that it be imported into the United States."

Gerardo Gonzalez Valencia is scheduled to be sentenced by the US justice system on April 6, 2023. The former leader of Los Cuinis was arrested in Uruguay in 2016 and extradited to the United States in May 2020. US law says that Gerardo González Valencia could get a sentence of at least 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

Gerardo González Valencia's guilty plea comes after his trial and that of his brother José were postponed on a couple of occasions for various reasons. Initially, it was scheduled for February 7, 2022, but in a hearing held in early January in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Beryl A. Howell decided to postpone it to February 7, 2022. Howell decided to postpone it to Monday, September 12.

The judge said that the reason for changing the date was that there were more confirmed cases of coronavirus in Washington and that the goal was to give the defense of the Valencia brothers a chance to make their case.

According to court documents cited by the US government, between 2003 and April 2016, Gerardo González Valencia was an alleged leader of Los Cuinis, an international drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine into the United States from South America, Mexico, and other parts of the world.

The criminal and family organization is closely linked to the Jalisco Cartel—New Generation (CJNG). Together, they make up one of the largest or most violent drug cartels.

The Los Cuinis criminal group is a clan made up of at least 18 brothers who allegedly manage the money laundering networks of the powerful four-letter cartel. Their relationship is strengthened by the fact that Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes is married to the sister of the Gonzalez Valencias. Her name is Rosalinda, and she is married to the leader of the criminal group.

Their leader, identified as Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, was arrested in April 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Although the US government has requested his extradition, his legal defense has managed to keep him from leaving Mexico.

Other brothers who have been arrested include Elvis, Arnulfo, and Ulises; the latter two were arrested in 2018. Their father, Armando Valencia Cornelio, also known as "El Maradona," started the Milenio Cartel, which is where "El Mencho" came from.

Since Los Cuinis was discovered to be the financial arm of the Jalisco Cartel—New Generation (CJNG), analysts such as drug trafficking journalist Oscar Balderas have claimed that the alliance elevated the criminal group led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as "El Mencho" or "El Senor de los Gallos", to the level of a "criminal enterprise".