CJNG Co-founder El 85 Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court — Sentencing July 31, 2026

Érick Valencia Salazar ('El 85'), one of the original co-founders of CJNG, pleaded guilty on April 7, 2026 in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine for importation into the United States — facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years and maximum of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2026 before Chief Judge James Boasberg. Valencia Salazar, 49, was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco in March 2012 — an arrest that triggered 12 CJNG narcobloqueos — and was extradited to the United States on February 27, 2025 as part of the historic mass extradition of 29 CJNG figures. After his 2012 arrest he broke from El Mencho to found his own rival splinter group, La Nueva Plaza. The guilty plea completes the U.S. prosecution of three of CJNG's four original co-founders: El 85 (guilty plea), El 53 (Martín Arzola Ortega, killed 2019 by CJNG), and El Mencho (killed Feb 22, 2026). Only co-founder Los Cuinis' family network (through Rosalinda González Valencia) remains partially at large.