Mexican cartel heir and brutal mass murderer Ruben “El Menchito” Oseguera has been sentenced to life imprisonment plus 30 additional years by a U.S. court. The sentencing marks the end of a violent criminal career that saw him rise to second-in-command of one of Mexico’s most dangerous drug trafficking organizations.
At a glance:
• Ruben “El Menchito” Oseguera Gonzalez, son of cartel boss “El Mencho,” received life imprisonment plus 30 years in a Washington D.C. federal court
• He was convicted of trafficking massive quantities of drugs including cocaine, meth, and fentanyl into the United States
• Prosecutors say he ordered at least 100 killings and personally murdered six people during his criminal career
• El Menchito ordered the shooting down of a Mexican military helicopter in 2015, killing nine
• He was ordered to forfeit over $6 billion in drug trafficking proceeds following his conviction
From Drug Prince to Prisoner
Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, known as “El Menchito,” was the heir apparent to the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations. The 34-year-old U.S.-Mexican dual citizen served as second-in-command to his father, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, for seven years before being extradited to the United States in February 2020.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C. handed down the sentence after prosecutors described Oseguera as a “mass murderer” deserving of two life sentences. He was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States and using firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
🚨🇺🇸SON OF MEXICAN CARTEL BOSS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN U.S. PRISON
Rubén "El Menchito" Oseguera, son of CJNG cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, has been sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking and orchestrating brutal killings.
Prosecutors say he ordered at least 100… https://t.co/npgIu4rJ5D pic.twitter.com/sfya2RQ5jN
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 7, 2025
According to court documents, Oseguera was responsible for importing staggering quantities of narcotics into the United States, including more than 50 metric tons of cocaine and 1,000 metric tons of methamphetamine. The Department of Justice also noted his involvement in early trafficking of fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid that has claimed countless American lives under the Biden administration’s open border policies.
These are the kinds of problems the Democrats have been claiming for years simply don’t exist…
“Your criminal actions are among the most serious that our drug laws are designed to address,” Judge Beryl Howell told Oseguera during sentencing. She rejected defense arguments that Oseguera was merely a product of his violent environment, also, stating bluntly: “You weren’t a child when you were committing all these crimes, and you won’t be sentenced as a child here.”
The violence perpetrated by Oseguera went beyond drug trafficking, with prosecutors documenting his involvement in ordering the killings of at least 100 people. In one particularly shocking incident in 2015, he ordered the shooting down of a Mexican military helicopter, resulting in the deaths of nine service members.
Finally he was sentenced to life in prison. https://t.co/AZ40GxiSgG
— Cecilia Bertolini (@CeciliaBertoli7) March 8, 2025
This is why we need a real border…
Victory Against Cartels
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the sentencing as a major victory against transnational criminal organizations that threaten American communities.
“This defendant helped build Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion into a brutal terrorist organization that pumps poison onto our streets and commits horrific acts of violence,” Bondi stated in the Department of Justice press release.
The case represents a rare success in bringing high-level cartel leaders to justice, even as Oseguera’s father remains at large with a $15 million reward for his capture. The prosecution was supported by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Mexican authorities, though Mexico had previously released El Menchito on multiple occasions under suspicious circumstances before finally extraditing him in 2020.
Acting DEA Administrator Derek S. Maltz called the sentencing “a victory for the dedicated men and women in federal law enforcement who have made it their lives’ work to dismantle and degrade the cartels in Mexico.” The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations that threaten American communities.
There’s no way this could have happened under the Biden regime.