Lady Justice
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.
Ex-Syrian Brigadier General Found Guilty of Torture and Immigration Fraud in Rare U.S. Trial
LOS ANGELES – A federal jury on Monday convicted a 73-year-old former Syrian brigadier general of orchestrating the torture of political prisoners under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, then lying to U.S. immigration authorities to obtain a green card and pursue American citizenship.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture for his role as director of Damascus Central Prison, known as Adra Prison, from approximately 2005 to 2008. Jurors also convicted him of immigration fraud for concealing his brutal past on visa and naturalization applications.
The verdict marks a rare prosecution under U.S. laws that allow for the arrest and trial of foreign human rights abusers who seek refuge in the United States.
According to trial evidence, Alsheikh personally inflicted and ordered subordinates to inflict severe physical and mental pain on prisoners. Victims testified that Alsheikh sent certain detainees to a section called Wing 13, where they were held in tiny isolation cells and subjected to systematic torture.
One survivor told the court that guards used manacles to suspend prisoners by their wrists from ceiling pipes for days, beating them with fists or cables while they hung. “He felt like his limbs would be torn from his body,” prosecutors recounted.
Witnesses also described a device called the “Magic Carpet” or “Flying Carpet” — two large wooden panels hinged together. Guards strapped a prisoner on their back with the waist at the hinge, then forced the lower panel against the upper, folding the body in half. One victim recalled that Alsheikh himself stomped on the device with his foot.
Another prisoner testified that as punishment for writing a letter of support to a political dissident, he was subjected to the Magic Carpet and then forced to wear a red jumpsuit — a garment reserved for those designated for execution. “He thought he was going to die,” the evidence showed.
“Samir Ousman Alsheikh tortured prisoners and committed human atrocities to punish and silence political dissent in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Then, after committing these heinous offenses for years, he lied to U.S. immigration authorities to live in the United States of America and pursue citizenship.”
Following his tenure at Adra Prison, Alsheikh was appointed governor of the Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zour in 2011. In 2018, he applied for a U.S. visa, and later for legal permanent residency and citizenship, falsely concealing his role in torture and violence. He entered the United States in 2020.
“Our country is not a refuge for criminals — especially criminals who engage in brutality of the kind this defendant inflicted on his victims,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California.
Alsheikh faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the three torture counts and the conspiracy count, plus up to 10 years for each immigration fraud charge. He will remain in federal custody pending a sentencing date to be determined.
Authorities urged anyone with information about former human rights violators living in the United States to contact the HSI tip line.
Honolulu Jury Convicts Man Who Targeted Teen Boys Through Grindr in Horrific Abuse Scheme
HONOLULU – A federal jury on Wednesday convicted a 45-year-old Honolulu man on 12 counts related to the sexual exploitation and trafficking of five teenage boys he met through the dating app Grindr, enticing them with money, electronics, and drugs before filming the abuse.
Darren Patrick Riley faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison after evidence showed he systematically preyed on minors ages 14 to 16 in Oahu during 2019 and 2020.
According to trial testimony, Riley used Grindr to initiate conversations with the victims, then arranged sexual encounters at multiple locations, including his apartment, his car, the beach, and hotel rooms he paid for. On one occasion, he abused two different victims in separate assaults in the same hotel room.
Prosecutors said Riley filmed the sexual acts and distributed the videos. In one recording, he directed a victim to announce that he was 14 years old, his age at the time.
Riley knowingly exploited the boys’ financial vulnerabilities. One victim was struggling to afford consistent meals; another was saving money because he feared being expelled from his family home. Riley also provided controlled substances to several victims. After giving one boy MDMA and other pills, the victim described drifting in and out of consciousness while Riley abused him. Multiple victims testified that they tried to refuse Riley’s advances, but he persisted.
The case came to light after Riley was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration at Los Angeles International Airport for attempting to traffic methamphetamine to Hawaii. A search of his phone revealed a collection of child sexual abuse material, leading to the charges.
“This verdict is the next step to holding Darren Riley fully accountable for his egregious pattern of preying upon and abusing children,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The work of the jury now ensures that Riley will not be a threat to other children in the future.”
U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii praised the five young victims for their courage in recounting their abuse at trial. “Our community is safer now,” Sorenson said.
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