‘El 85’, Co-Founder of CJNG, Agreed to Plead Guilty in Federal Court in Washington

Erick Valencia Salazar, alias “El 85,” one of the founders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and a former associate of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” has agreed to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in a federal court in Washington on April 7, 2026. Court records indicate that Valencia Salazar’s defense team and U.S. prosecutors signed an agreement to change the Jalisco drug lord’s initial plea of ​​not guilty.

With this decision, Valencia Salazar waives his right to a trial and follows the path of plea bargaining that other major leaders of Mexican organized crime—such as the sons of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias “El Chapo,” and Ismael Zambada García, alias “El Mayo”—have also chosen in recent years before U.S. courts. The hearing will be held before Judge James E. Boasberg, who has presided over the case since the Jalisco drug trafficker was indicted for conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States.

The agreement could include a cooperation clause with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in exchange for benefits such as a prison sentence less than the maximum allowed for the charges. If he becomes a cooperating witness, Valencia Salazar could receive additional conditions for a reduced sentence. The DEA offered a $5 million reward for his capture for years, considering him responsible for trafficking tons of cocaine into the U.S. between 2003 and 2018.

Valencia Salazar’s extradition to U.S. authorities occurred on February 27, 2015, when the Mexican government transferred 29 alleged drug traffickers whom Washington had requested for extradition on charges related to drug trafficking and organized crime. On that occasion, Valencia Salazar was sent along with figures such as Rafael Caro Quintero and former Los Zetas leaders Miguel Ángel and Omar Treviño Morales, alias “Z-40” and “Z-42.” After his arraignment, the defendant pleaded not guilty, but his defense—led by attorneys Bonnie S. Klapper and Daniela Posada—began formal negotiations with the prosecution months later.

Valencia Salazar was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco. According to DEA records, he has two possible birth dates: March 11, 1977, and November 19, 1982. His criminal career began around 2003 as a member of the Milenio Cartel, an organization led by Óscar Orlando Nava Valencia, alias “El Lobo” (The Wolf). In the late 2000s, after the death of Ignacio Coronel Villarreal, alias “Nacho” Coronel, he participated in the founding of the CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) along with “El Mencho” and other leaders. He is also credited with creating the armed group Los Mata Zetas, which originally operated as the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel to combat Los Zetas.

The Mexican Army arrested Valencia Salazar for the first time on March 9, 2012, in Zapopan, Jalisco, during an operation in which they seized 30 rifles, grenades, magazines, and ammunition. He was released in 2017 due to alleged due process violations. By then, the break with “El Mencho” was definitive—Valencia Salazar attributed his first arrest to a betrayal by his former partner—which led to the founding of the Nueva Plaza Cartel along with Carlos Enrique Sánchez Martínez, alias “El Cholo.” The dispute between the two organizations unleashed a wave of violence in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, including the discovery of torture houses and mass graves containing dozens of bodies. Valencia Salazar was recaptured on September 4, 2022, by the Mexican Army in Tapalpa, Jalisco.

Valencia Salazar’s change of plea came months after Víctor Miguel Curiel Valadez, identified as one of the CJNG’s main financial operators, also agreed to plead guilty before a federal court in Houston, Texas, in September 2025. The final terms of the agreement, including the calculation of the applicable sentence and any cooperation conditions Valencia Salazar agreed to sign, will be revealed at the hearing before Judge Boasberg on April 7, 2026.

Source: Zeta Tijuana