How Much Does A CJNG Franchise Cost?

Mica for cartelinsider.com

From being an armed branch at the service of The Federation, the criminal organization led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, became the one with the largest presence in the national territory thanks to the “sale of franchises” to local groups so that they could use the initials of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

During the years of growth of the CJNG, “alliances” appeared and the emergence of new criminal groups with the stamp of the also known as “cartel of the four letters”: the Tijuana New Generation Cartel, the New Michoacana Family or New Alliance -with the Tepito Union-, are just some of the examples.

In regions such as Veracruz, according to statements by the former Secretary of Public Security, Hugo Gutiérrez Maldonado, the CJNG “offered franchises for rent” so that local groups could use their name, tactical equipment, weapons, and the strategy of the criminal organization whose “headquarters” is located in the golden triangle of Jalisco, Michoacán, and Colima.

The statements from the official came in response to the wave of violence that broke out in September 2022 in the municipality of Orizaba; in an “unusual” event, Mexican Army elements and Civil Force faced over half a thousand bullets with CJNG hitmen. At least those were the initials that appeared on their caps and tactical vests.

If there is one thing that the CJNG knows how to do, it is making money, not only through the sale and trafficking of drugs but also through their many businesses listed and sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury: sushi restaurants, clothing boutiques, tequila brands, and real estate developments, all coexisting with franchise rentals to increase the criminal organization’s coffers.

Although “El Mencho’s” “legal” businesses are often used to launder dirty money from drug trafficking, the rental of franchises has a more strategic value than monetary.

Lending their name to local groups not only opens the doors to conflict zones or hard-to-access areas for the CJNG; according to journalist Gaspar Vela, it also allows them to create strong alliances, obtain strategic information about the region, and access the municipal and state corruption networks already established by their tenants.

If the payment exists, it is difficult to determine the amount that the CJNG charges to rent one of its franchises. However, to that payment are added the profits from the sale of drugs since local groups are obliged to buy narcotics from “El Mencho”’s men to meet the demands of local small-scale drug trafficking.

It is rumored that the CJNG was created to stop the bloodthirsty Zetas – the armed branch of the Gulf Cartel – at that time they were known as “Los Mata Zetas” and among their main battlefields is precisely Veracruz.

At the end of the first decade of the new millennium, there were multiple murders “signed” by Los Zetas; however, other crimes such as extortion, kidnappings, and protection payments were also carried out in the name of those directed by Miguel Ángel Treviño, known as “Z-40”, with or without his consent.

This “strategy” moved to the CJNG – even today, we see videos of alleged leaders distancing themselves from extortions and abductions and affirming that they are “with the people” and that they will clean entire municipalities of those who pretend to be them and commit these types of crimes- and they took advantage of it to make a profit, according to statements from the former public security chief of Veracruz.

The truth is that through these “alliances” or “franchise rentals”, the CJNG managed to gain ground against the Sinaloa Cartel – its main rival – and began to compete for territories such as Quintana Roo, Veracruz, Chiapas, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, and Baja California, in less than five years of criminal experience.

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Mica

Email: mica@cartelinsider.com

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