Meet the rumored new Jalisco Cartel boss - a Californian from Orange County

"Juan Carlos Valencia González has emerged as a key contender to take over the $20 billion criminal empire after "El Mencho" died in a Mexican special forces raid on Sunday. The 41-year-old is the slain chief's stepson. According to law enforcement, his mother Rosalinda "La Jefa" González Valencia was married to the drug kingpin and was a major player on the financial side of the cartel."

"Juan Carlos, who is also known as El Pelon, Tricky Tres and O3, is a dual American and Mexican citizen, having been born in Santa Ana, Orange County, in 1984. Many details about his early life remain unknown, but he was born while his cartel-linked parents Rosalinda and Armando Valencia Cornelio lived in California."

"El Pelon's alleged drug ties were blown into the open by the DEA in 2020. An investigation found he was responsible for making and selling "tons of narcotics" as well as behind violent crimes since 2007. Videos surfaced in July 2020 showing the armed wing of the Jalisco Cartel, with the then Mexican Defense Secretary identifying one of those in the footage as Juan Carlos."

Following the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, in a Mexican special forces raid, Juan Carlos Valencia González has emerged as the leading contender to take over the Jalisco Cartel. The 41-year-old, born in Santa Ana, California in 1984, is El Mencho's stepson and holds dual American-Mexican citizenship. His mother, Rosalinda González Valencia, was a significant financial operator within the cartel and may support her son's ascension to leadership. The DEA exposed Valencia González's drug trafficking involvement in 2020, revealing his responsibility for manufacturing and distributing large quantities of narcotics and involvement in violent crimes since 2007. The U.S. government has charged him with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and placed a $5 million bounty on his head.

Read at California Post