CJNG Operative Publicly Confirms 'El 03' as New Cartel Commander in German Documentary

A member of CJNG's special-operations wing appeared on camera in the German documentary "Los cárteles mexicanos: ¿El fin de la impunidad?" (produced by ARTEde), delivering the first public, on-camera acknowledgment from inside the organization that Juan Carlos Valencia González ('El 03'/'El Pelón') is now CJNG's commander following El Mencho's February 22 killing. The operative stated: 'El Mencho siempre será nuestro líder, pero ahora nuestro comandante es el 03. Es la autoridad y el poder... Quien desafíe su poder será castigado' ('El Mencho will always be our leader, but now our commander is El 03. He is the authority and the power... Whoever defies his power will be punished'), adding 'El cártel está por encima de todo. Es una maquinaria enorme' ('The cartel is above everything. It's an enormous machine'). The confirmation follows the U.S. Treasury's July 23 OFAC designation and the August 5 DOJ/State Department reward package, both of which already named El 03 as confirmed leader — but this marks the first internal, on-the-record acknowledgment from within CJNG's ranks itself, reinforcing the 'no fracture' assessment analysts have maintained since the succession crisis began.