CJNG Kingpin ‘El 85’ Pleads Guilty in U.S. Court as Cartel Violence and Cocaine Empire Unravel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A California man who co-founded the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a Mexican cartel recently designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal narcotics charges, admitting to a conspiracy that flooded the United States with thousands of kilograms of cocaine.

Erick Valencia-Salazar, 49, of Santa Clara, California, also known as “El 85,” entered the guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States. He now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 31.

According to court documents and statements made during the proceeding, Valencia-Salazar is not merely a member but a co-founder of the CJNG, which the State Department labeled a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025. As a leader of the notoriously violent cartel, he was responsible for recruiting new members, leveraging intelligence on rival cartels to locate and kill enemies, and seizing control of drug trafficking territories across Mexico.

Prosecutors detailed that Valencia-Salazar personally conspired to send thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States on behalf of the CJNG.

Prior to forming the CJNG, Valencia-Salazar was a member of the Milenio Cartel, where he regularly distributed pistols and assault rifles—including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles—to cartel gunmen, or “sicarios.” Those weapons were used in battles with rival cartels to support the Milenio Cartel’s operation of sending multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America into Mexico each year, with most of the drugs ultimately destined for U.S. streets.

“Erick Valencia-Salazar co-founded the CJNG, one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, which shipped tons of cocaine into the United States and inflicted immeasurable damage on our country,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Valencia-Salazar was also responsible for furthering the rampant violence in Mexico, at the expense of people’s lives and the safety of communities.”

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole characterized the cartel’s operations as using “violence as a business model,” noting that the CJNG spreads “violence, fear, and instability on both sides of the border.”

“They do not just traffic deadly drugs — including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine — they spread violence, fear, and instability on both sides of the border,” Cole said. “This guilty plea marks another step in holding its leadership accountable.”

Valencia-Salazar was transferred from Mexico to the United States in February 2025 under Mexico’s National Security law, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.