There are more than 10,000 unsolved crimes in Southern California, most of which are homicides. Unsolved with Steve Gregory highlights cases that have gone cold, hit a brick wall, or just need that one piece of evidence or witness to surface to break the case wide open. The program features law enforcement agencies from Southern California, including the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, the LAPD, the Sheriff departments of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, and federal agencies like the FBI, DEA, and ATF.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is considered by many to be the largest drug cartel in the world. The CJNG is responsible for more than one-third of all illegal drugs smuggled into the United States. The cartel has a large footprint in the Los Angeles area and the majority of drugs found in Downtown L.A.'s Skid Row can be traced back to the CJNG. Known for massacring rival cartel members and those who oppose the CJNG, the Mexican Government widely believes CJNG to be the most dangerous criminal organization in all of Mexico.
The leader of this notorious Mexican cartel is a man named Nemesio Osegura-Cervantes, also known as, "El Mencho." He is one of the world's most wanted druglords and has a $10 million dollar reward for information that leads to his arrest. El Mencho is wanted by federal authorities for drug trafficking, murder, and corruption.
Recently, Unsolved's Steve Gregory sat down with DEA Agent Kyle Mori to give us an update on El Mencho. Agent Mori has been tracking the drug lord for years and recounts El Mencho's connection with the L.A. area. Plus, they recap the surreal moment when Unsolved was on the radar of people in El Mencho’s hometown of Zapopan in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. You can listen to Steve's past interview with agent Mori on the iheartradio app.
At one point before he rose to the status of a cartel kingpin, El Mencho lived in California in the 1980s. He was eventually arrested for selling drugs and deported back to Mexico. He then began working for the Milenio Cartel and quickly became a big player in the organization before founding the CJNG. The CJNG became a powerful Mexican cartel in the early 2010s. El Mencho's cartel now makes hundreds of millions of dollars per year from the illegal drug trade.
El Mencho and his cartel routinely use deadly force on those that get in the way of CJNG's business dealings. It is rumored that he even has entire police departments on his payroll that protect him from being captured. While El Mencho has been seemingly untouchable those close to him have been arrested, helping authorities get one step closer to finally nabbing the notorious drug lord. In 2015 El Mencho's son, Ruben Osegura Gonzalez was arrested and is currently held in a maximum security prison in Mexico. In 2021 El Mencho's wife who acted as CJNG's chief financial officer was also arrested. And his brother, Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, known as the cartel's logistics coordinator was arrested by the Mexican Army in 2022.
For now, El Mencho remains wanted by Mexican and United States authorities.
If you or someone you know has information on this case dial #250 on your cellphone using the keyword 'Unsolved.'