Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez, former number two of a particularly violent Mexican cartel and son of its founder, was sentenced on Friday to life in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.
'El Menchito, now about 35 years old, “had an entire team of killers” working for him and personally killed several people in Mexico, a federal judge in Washington declared while delivering the sentence.
He was arrested in Mexico in 2015, extradited to the United States in 2020, and found guilty last September of drug trafficking and illegal use of weapons.
The Jalisco Nueva Generacion, founded by his father Nemesio Oseguera, emerged in 2010 and is one of Mexico’s most significant, powerful, and violent criminal organisations.
The cartel is among eight that are now classified as terrorist organisations by Donald Trump’s government. Oseguera Snr. nicknamed 'El Mencho,' is one of the FBI’s most wanted men. There is a $15 million reward for his capture.
US President Donald Trump has declared war on the cartels across the border, calling them a “serious threat” to “national security,” due in particular to fentanyl. 'El Menchito' was accused by US authorities of being one of the pioneers in importing the synthetic opioid in the early 2010s into the United States, where it kills tens of thousands of people each year.
However, his conviction pertains to the distribution of large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamines to the US, as well as to the use of firearms.
Prosecutors demanded the harshest sentence due to “his brutality” and “the carnage he personally caused.”
They argued that he had ordered the downing of a Mexican government helicopter in 2015 to avoid capture, killing nine law enforcement officers.
His lawyer, Anthony Colombo, criticised the verdict as “heavier than necessary” and announced an appeal.
“None of the acts in this case were committed in the United States,” he told French news agency AFP, accusing US justice of “overstepping” its territorial jurisdiction in the fight against drug trafficking. “This trial should have been held in Mexico,” he added.
US justice has pursued and convicted numerous Mexican drug lords, including Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 for drug trafficking.
