FGR Investigation Points to Possible Successor to “El Mencho”

At Rancho Izaguirre, in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, “El Mencho” had a training camp with long weapons and armed drones.

Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), had long been under investigation by Mexican authorities, including the alleged payrolls discovered after his death and his supposed successor. 

Here are the details:

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) had been investigating the alleged payrolls of “El Señor de los Gallos” (The Lord of the Roosters) or “El M Grande” (Big M), as Oseguera Cervantes was also known, since November 2015. He was killed on February 22 in Tapalpa, Jalisco.

According to the arrest warrant against “El Mencho,” the Attorney General’s Office knew that the former leader and founder of the CJNG had bribed municipal, state, and federal authorities, and even officials within the FGR.

“Its members have managed to corrupt authorities at the municipal, state, and federal levels, including personnel within the Attorney General’s Office itself, which underscores the need for this authority, attached to the country’s Federal Maximum Security Center, to handle the matter.”

“And, therefore, from outside the criminal group’s territorial sphere of influence, to ensure its proper handling, free from such influences (…) so that they are incarcerated in El Altiplano,” the file emphasizes.

“El Mencho” and the attack against García Harfuch

He is also accused of ordering the  attempted assassination of Omar García Harfuch, then Secretary of Citizen Security of Mexico City, on June 26, 2020.

Based on investigation file FED/FEMDO/FEITATA-JAL/0001023/2024 and in accordance with official document FGR/FEMDO/FEITATA/9858/2025, the arrest warrant issued on November 2, 2025, against “El Mencho” and Hugo Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán, alias “El Sapo,” “El 90,” or “El Sagrado Hombre,” who is considered his possible successor, accuses them of organized crime for the purpose of carrying out the crimes of stockpiling and trafficking weapons and human trafficking.

At Rancho Izaguirre, in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, “El Mencho” had a training camp with high-powered weapons and armed drones.

The document mentions that, under a pyramid structure, Oseguera Cervantes, at the head of the organization, had at least three commanders under his command, identified as “El Sapo” (The Toad), “El Guty” or “El Señor de las Tacomas” (The Lord of the Tacomas), alluding to the luxury trucks, who is currently detained, and “El Jardinero” (The Gardener).

These individuals were assigned territories within the country for the purpose of selling narcotics and collecting the profits from this activity.

“In order to finance the purchase of firearms, pay the salaries of cartel members, as well as the distribution of money for the war,” referring to the clashes between the cartel’s shock troops or Deltas, the armed wing of the CNG, and other criminal groups and against the country’s Armed Forces,” the arrest warrant details.

Regarding the cartel’s recruitment and training:

He also ordered attacks against authorities, institutions, and individuals to demonstrate his organization’s presence and power.

The Attorney General’s Office (FGR) argued before the District Judge specializing in the Accusatory Criminal System in the State of Mexico, assigned to the Federal Criminal Justice Center in Almoloya de Juárez, El Altiplano, that “El Mencho” wielded significant influence in Jalisco.

Furthermore, the FGR requested an arrest warrant from the judge, outlining the alleged crimes attributed to “El Mencho” and “El Sapo,” and stating that a formal complaint or accusation preceded the request, given that the investigation began on December 30, 2024.

This stems from an anonymous complaint against José Gregorio Lastra Hermida, alias “Lastra,” currently in custody, who is accused of recruiting hitmen for the CNG and working for “El Sapo,” who was in charge of a training camp in Jalisco.

“He has many long guns of all types and they teach them how to fire AK-47s, machine guns, Barrett rifles, grenades, operate drones with explosives, and generally everything used for combat,” the file states.

Meanwhile, the statements of witnesses identified as “El Elegante” and “Piscis” indicate that the CNG repeatedly conducts recruitment and training under similar conditions.

This included the deployment of new members who, under false job offers, deception, or of their own volition, were transferred to various camps known as La Escuelita, Rancho Izaguirre, and Casa Tortuga. There, they received training in the assembly and disassembly of long and short firearms, military instruction, and basic life skills.

Individuals had to learn these skills to graduate from La Escuelita and were subsequently selected and sent to “El 90,” who was responsible for deciding who would work for the organization.

“In the camps (…) the organization kept a considerable number of long and short firearms, machine guns, grenades, drones adapted to carry explosives, bulletproof vests, tactical military equipment, and even military supplies.”

“All of this without the corresponding permits or belonging to the Armed Forces (…) witnesses report that these items were used in the training of new members and for the protection of the leaders,” the document states.

The criminal organization has a presence in Colima, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Mexico City.

Investigations indicate that “El Mencho” was the leader and founder of the criminal conglomerate, and “El Sapo” his successor, “as they give instructions to their subordinates and other, as yet unidentified, individuals regarding potentially illicit activities.”

Source: Informador Mx