U.S. raises award for info leading to arrest of Mexican drug cartel leader 'El Mencho'

Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of State has increased its reward for information that leads to the arrest of a notorious Mexican drug cartel leader known as "El Mencho," it was announced Wednesday.

According to a release, State Department officials said the U.S. government is now offering up to $15 million for credible information leading to the arrest or conviction of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, a Mexican national.

He is currently a known fugitive, U.S. officials say.

Oseguera Cervantes is the alleged co-founder and current leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion -- or CJNG -- which is a violently noted Mexican drug cartel gang responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States.

The Americanized "Jalisco New Generation Cartel" is, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, "one of the fastest growing transnational criminal organizations" in Mexico, and is one of the "most prolific methamphetamine producers in the world."

The cartel is responsible for a "significant" proportion of illegal narcotics that enter the U.S. and is blamed for elevated levels of violence in Mexico with "El Mencho" as its "undisputed leader," the DEA previously has said.

On Wednesday, the State Department pointed to how, since 2017, Oseguera has been indicted multiple times in the U.S. for drug trafficking.

Officials say Oseguera has used a firearm in the crimes of which he was accused, and he specifically conspired to manufacture and distribute meth, cocaine and fentanyl that was to be imported into the U.S. drug market.

Nearly three years ago in 2021, Mexican journalists were on high alert after "El Mencho" had supposedly issued a veiled death threat via a surrogate against a prominent television anchor over "unfair" media coverage of the Jalisco cartel's battles with its rival gangs.

More recently, Oseguera was charged in April 2022 for allegedly engaging in a continued criminal enterprise.

Meanwhile, the DEA also seeks tips for the arrest of other CJNG leaders, Audias Flores-Silva and Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, both of whom have a reward of up to $5 million for an arrest or conviction.