US Authorities Claim CJNG Set Up Drug Lab in Kenya

In a report, the US State Department says the lab was linked to the criminal group headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “El Mencho.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) reportedly set up a drug laboratory in Kenya last year; a U.S. State Department (DOS) intelligence report located the methamphetamine production center in the city of Namanga, Africa.

In its 2025 report on the International Narcotics Control Strategy, the State Department highlighted that the “large-scale” clandestine laboratory was located in September 2025, and a Mexican national identified as Alvarado Israel “V” was captured while attempting to leave Kenya.

Authorities also arrested five other individuals identified as Francis Maina Gachau, Betty Mukami Micheni, Caroline Wambui Muchira, Agwu Ojukwu, and Agwu Ogba, both originally from Nigeria.

The document indicates that this laboratory was linked to the criminal group led by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes and presumed that it was the first operation to confirm the cartel’s presence in that territory.

Blows to the CJNG

In early March, Rubén Oseguera González “El Menchito,” the second-in-command of the CJNG, was sentenced by a federal court in Washington, D.C., to life in prison without the possibility of parole and ordered to pay $6 billion.

‘El Menchito’ was sentenced to life in prison for the first charge of manufacturing drugs for distribution in the United States and an additional 30-year prison sentence for the level of violence in which he personally engaged.

Sources: Proceso, Cartel Insider