Drug trafficking and territorial control were the seeds, but the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is far from being a criminal organization solely dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion, and contract killings. With a franchise model, the empire of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho, extends to activities ranging from mineral trading to entertainment services that blend with the “formal economy.”
According to documents from the U.S. Treasury and information from the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), this cartel consolidated a money laundering scheme disguised as investments in tourism, restaurants, real estate, mining, agriculture, and finance, among others. Its connections to promoters of cockfights and fairs were only revealed in 2018.
Based solely on sanctions issued by Treasury agencies—the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)—and disseminated in press releases, at least 109 companies have been sanctioned in the last decade for their ties to the CJNG.
And in Mexico, as of 2023, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit reported, through transparency requests, that it had frozen the accounts of 199 companies linked to the CJNG, including pharmaceutical companies, car dealerships, real estate firms, construction companies, financial services companies, and tequila producers.
A large portion of these blocked accounts stem from Operation Blue Agave, announced in 2020, which froze 1,939 bank accounts belonging to 1,770 individuals, 167 companies, and two trusts (bit.ly/473yA4v). These accounts were traced to Mexico City, Michoacán, Baja California, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Colima, León, and Querétaro.
Three years after this operation, which targeted the CJNG’s financial core in at least eight states, the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) reported in transparency documents that the accounts of 1,478 targets (1,313 individuals and 163 companies) remained frozen, holding 1,047,612,648.93 pesos.
Infiltration of “Legitimate Industries”
Beyond the CJNG’s increased involvement in “non-drug trafficking activities, such as gasoline theft, extortion, and real estate fraud,” to diversify the cartel’s revenue streams and protect its assets from seizure, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) highlighted the growing “infiltration of legitimate industries” in its most recent National Assessment.
Drug trafficking remains the CJNG’s most profitable business, but given its nature, figures are limited to estimates. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in its most recent World Drug Report, financial flows from cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine trafficking averaged $12.1 billion per year in Mexico.
And, beyond estimates, in 2024 alone, FinCEN identified approximately $1.4 billion in suspicious transactions linked to the fentanyl supply chain, in which the CJNG is implicated as having a significant role.
Regarding fuel smuggling (also known as tax-related fuel theft), the second most lucrative activity for drug cartels, U.S. agencies have indicated that each operation involves around $5 billion and that the profits for organized crime members involved reach $5 million.
Already operating in a sort of hybrid with the “formal economy,” the United States government reported that between 2019 and 2024, more than 6,000 Americans lost $350 million after being ensnared in timeshare scams at resorts promoted by the organization, particularly in developments located in Puerto Vallarta and surrounding tourist destinations.
Since July 2024, FinCEN has warned about these timeshare fraud schemes—which involve the right to use a vacation space on a recurring basis—and the accumulated sanctions have affected travel agencies, shopping centers, advertising companies, residential developments, real estate companies, gas stations, and restaurants, especially in tourist destinations in Jalisco and Nayarit.
Regarding minerals, the UNODC cites only one case: the CJNG orchestrated “a sophisticated and highly profitable mercury smuggling operation.” Between 2019 and 2025, it shipped around 200 tons of this mineral, extracted in Querétaro, to various countries, including Peru, Colombia and Bolivia, to be used in illegal gold mining, which has brought it estimated income of 8 billion dollars.
Source: jornada
