Trump administration offers $25 million reward for California-born leader of Mexico’s most powerful cartel

The State Department on Wednesday offered a $25 million reward for information leading to the capture of Juan Carlos González, or “Pelón,” scaling up pressure on a U.S. citizen who has emerged as the figurehead of Mexico’s most powerful cartel.

The reward was bumped up from $5 million. The Trump administration offered a total of $102 million in rewards for various leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, and restricted the visas of family members and business associates of cartel members.

The State Department said it was aimed at “crippling the organization’s leadership” while President Trump has ramped up pressure on Mexico and other Latin American nations to carry out his security agenda.

CJNG is among eight Mexican cartels designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group was dealt a blow in February when leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” was killed by the Mexican military. The U.S. provided intelligence for the operation, which resulted in a burst in violence in the state of Jalisco.

González, Oseguera Cervantes’s stepson and a dual Mexican and U.S. citizen, is reported to have taken control of the cartel, which is involved in everything from avocado production to drug smuggling. According to the State Department, Gonzalez was born in Santa Ana, California, on Sept. 12, 1984.

The reward offers also include up to $15 million for Audias Flores Silva, a.k.a. “El Jardinero” (“The Gardener”); up to $15 million each for Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán, a.k.a. “Sapo,” and Oseguera Cervantes’ son-in-law, Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Chorro”; up to $10 million each for Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, a.k.a. “Tripa,” Julio César Montero Pinzón, a.k.a. “El Tarjetas,” and Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela, a.k.a. “La Firma”; and up to $2 million for Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzón. 

Wednesday’s move comes a few weeks after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on 50 people and companies linked with the cartel, including González. The sanctions froze assets and blocked U.S. financial transactions with those cited.

The cartel is considered the largest in Mexico, with a presence in 21 of its 32 states. Its operations have extended to several countries, including the U.S.

“The United States is hunting down, dismantling, and destroying Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday.

The Trump administration has ramped up pressure on the government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to crack down more heavily on cartels, even threatening military action against the groups.

In June, the U.S. Treasury announced a new bank alert 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 fuel theft ring intended to evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel.