U.S. Estimates Put CJNG Membership at 15,000–20,000 — Larger Than Several European Militaries

A September 15, 2026 Infobae analysis cited U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) estimates placing CJNG membership at 15,000 to 20,000, consistent with a prior DEA calculation of roughly 18,800, and compared the figure to the armed forces of Paraguay (~20,000), Sweden and Denmark (~16,000 each), and Ireland (~8,500). The piece reiterated that Juan Carlos Valencia González, 'El 03,' leads the organization following El Mencho's February 2026 killing, with a $25 million U.S. reward on his capture, and that NCTC attributes CJNG revenue beyond narcotics trafficking to extortion, fuel theft, kidnapping, illegal logging and mining, human trafficking, and timeshare fraud, alongside trafficking networks reaching the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America under a hierarchical command structure with regional leaders.