Brother of Late CJNG Leader Pleads Guilty in U.S. Drug Trafficking Case

A Mexican national who prosecutors say helped run the cocaine and methamphetamine pipeline for two of Mexico’s most powerful cartels has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms charges, the Justice Department said.

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacán, Mexico, admitted to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine destined for the United States, as well as using, carrying and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of two consecutive life sentences. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents, Oseguera Cervantes trafficked cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States for cartels based in Mexico for more than two decades. From about 2002 to 2010, he operated as a member of the Milenio Cartel in Jalisco, Mexico, overseeing narcotics sales, protecting territory from rival cartels and supervising and maintaining the operations of methamphetamine laboratories. He procured precursor chemicals for the manufacture of methamphetamine and distributed methamphetamine and cocaine destined for the United States.

Since about 2010, court filings state, he worked with and reported directly to his brother, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “Mencho,” who helped found and led the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes is now dead.

The CJNG, based in the state of Jalisco, is one of the most prolific and dangerous drug cartels in Mexico and traffics multiple tons of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States.

Court filings state that Oseguera Cervantes furthered the cartel’s drug trafficking operations by supplying precursor chemicals to its methamphetamine laboratories and distributing cocaine and methamphetamine for the organization. He also collected drug proceeds and managed the cartel’s money laundering activities, including transferring drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico through currency exchange locations. When collecting drug proceeds or attending meetings to discuss drug trafficking, he armed himself with a pistol.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Administrator Terrance C. Cole of the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the plea.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit Los Angeles is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted in Oseguera Cervantes’ transfer from Mexico to the United States in February 2025 under Mexico’s National Security law. The department thanked the government of Mexico for its assistance in securing his presence in the United States for prosecution.

Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit and trial attorneys Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel and Nicole Lockhart of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.

The section says its mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels and protect the U.S. financial system. It pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals, financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system, international money launderers who support transnational organized crime, and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations. Its Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit investigates and prosecutes the top command and control elements of international drug cartels, drug trafficking organizations and related transnational criminal organizations.

The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” The task force is a partnership across the federal government dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.

Officials said the task force directs U.S. law enforcement toward identifying, investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by those organizations, placing special emphasis on those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. It also uses available tools to prosecute and remove violent criminal aliens from the United States.