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CJNG: More Dangerous Than El Chapo’s Empire
Oct 7, 2025
They shot down a military helicopter with a rocket launcher. They operate in over 35 U.S. states and across three continents. The DEA calls them the most dangerous criminal organization in Mexico. This is the story of CJNG—the cartel that didn’t exist before 2010 but has now surpassed the Sinaloa Cartel in reach, resources, and ruthlessness. Built by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, CJNG didn’t just traffic drugs—they created a vertically integrated criminal empire using military tactics, corporate strategies, and technology that changed the drug war forever. From armored convoys to weaponized drones, CJNG evolved organized crime into something closer to insurgent warfare. While El Chapo became a celebrity prisoner, El Mencho remained a ghost—allegedly alive, possibly dead, but either way, his organization continues to expand globally. This video explores how CJNG rose so fast, why traditional law enforcement struggles to stop them, and what their evolution means for the future of organized crime. This is investigative storytelling, not glorification—a look at the systems, strategies, and failures that allow cartels like CJNG to thrive. Questions for you: Is CJNG truly more dangerous than Sinaloa ever was, or just better at adapting to modern enforcement? If El Mencho is dead or incapacitated, does that make CJNG more dangerous because they don’t depend on one leader? Subscribe for deep dives into the criminal networks you need to understand. Like if this investigation surprised you. Comment your analysis—thoughtful takes get highlighted.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Kaliscoco, Mexico. July 2015.
0:05
A military helicopter circles over dense
0:07
forest, tracking suspected cartel
0:10
activity below. Routine surveillance,
0:13
standard operation. But what happened
0:16
next changed everything the DEA thought
0:19
they knew about Mexican cartels. A
0:22
rocket propelled grenade streaks upward
0:24
from the treeine. Direct hit. The
0:27
helicopter crashes, killing nine people,
0:30
including a federal police officer. This
0:32
wasn't a gang. This wasn't a ragtag
0:34
group of traffickers running from
0:36
authorities. This was a military
0:38
engagement. And the organization behind
0:40
it wasn't hiding in caves or running
0:42
through tunnels. They were openly
0:44
challenging the Mexican government with
0:46
firepower that rivaled the army itself.
0:49
How does a cartel that didn't exist
0:52
before 2010 become what the DEA calls
0:55
the most dangerous criminal organization
0:57
in Mexico? More powerful, more violent,
1:01
and more sophisticated than the Sinaloa
1:03
cartel at its peak. The cartel Kaliscoco
1:07
Nova Generation, known as CJNG,
1:11
now operates in all 32 Mexican states
1:14
and has expanded to Europe, Asia, and
1:17
Australia. Conservative estimates put
1:20
their annual revenue at over $20
1:22
billion.
1:24
They've deployed armored vehicles,
1:26
militarygrade drones, and coordinated
1:29
attacks that look more like insurgent
1:31
warfare than drug trafficking. When El
1:35
Chapo was arrested in 2016, the world
1:38
assumed the Sinaloa cartel would remain
1:41
dominant. But while everyone was
1:43
watching Sinaloa, CJNG was building an
1:47
empire that would make El Chapo's
1:49
operation look almost old-fashioned by
1:52
comparison.
1:54
This isn't just about drugs anymore.
1:56
This is about a criminal organization
1:59
that studied military tactics, corporate
2:01
expansion strategies, and asymmetric
2:04
warfare to become something Mexico had
2:07
never seen before. So, get ready to dive
2:09
into the story of CJNG, the cartel that
2:13
evolved beyond trafficking into
2:15
something far more dangerous.
2:18
Act one, origins, the teacher's
2:21
apprentice. The truth is, CJNG didn't
2:25
emerge from nowhere. It was built by a
2:28
man who learned from the best and
2:30
understood exactly how the old cartels
2:32
failed. His name is Nsio Osua Cvantes.
2:37
Street name Elmeno. Born in 1966 in
2:42
rural Mituakan, one of Mexico's poorest
2:45
states, Osguera grew up in a world where
2:48
legitimate opportunities were scarce,
2:51
and the drug trade was one of the few
2:53
paths to money and power. By his early
2:57
20s, he'd crossed into California,
3:00
working odd jobs, trying to build
3:02
something. But in 1992, he was arrested
3:06
in San Francisco for heroin
3:08
distribution. Served 3 years, deported
3:12
back to Mexico in 1995.
3:15
According to investigators, this prison
3:18
stint was pivotal, he learned English,
3:22
he studied, and most importantly, he
3:25
made connections with Mexican
3:27
traffickers who were operating on both
3:30
sides of the border. When he returned to
3:32
Mexico, he didn't go back to Mitawakan.
3:36
Instead, he gravitated to Halisco and
3:39
connected with one of the most powerful
3:41
organizations at the time, the
3:43
Millennial Cartel. Yet, the Millennial
3:46
Cartel was already in decline.
3:49
Leadership was fractured. Arrests were
3:52
increasing. The old model of regional
3:55
drug trafficking was being disrupted by
3:58
the Mexican government's so-called war
4:00
on drugs launched by President Felipe
4:03
Calderon in 2006.
4:06
Oiggua saw the chaos not as a threat but
4:10
as opportunity.
4:12
When the millennial cartel splintered in
4:14
the late 2000s, Oguera aligned himself
4:18
with one of the fragments that would
4:20
eventually become the Sinaloa cartel's
4:23
armed wing in Halisco, a group called
4:26
Los Matazetas or the Zeta Killers. But
4:31
here's where the Zetas were originally
4:33
an elite special forces unit from the
4:35
Mexican military who defected to work
4:38
for the Gulf cartel. They brought
4:41
military discipline, advanced tactics,
4:43
and extreme measures to the drug trade.
4:47
By 2010, they had broken away from the
4:49
Gulf cartel and were expanding
4:52
aggressively across Mexico. Loss
4:55
Matazetas, as the name suggests, was
4:58
formed specifically to fight them. It
5:01
was funded by the Sinoa cartel to
5:03
protect their territory and Haliscoco
5:05
from Zeta expansion. Oguera became one
5:08
of their key leaders. But he wasn't just
5:09
a fighter. He was a strategist.
5:12
According to intercepted communications
5:13
analyzed by Mexican intelligence, Osigua
5:16
studied how the Zetas operated. He
5:18
observed their recruitment, their
5:20
military structure, their use of fear
5:22
and spectacle, and he took notes.
5:25
However, there was a problem. By 2011,
5:29
tensions between Los Matazetus and their
5:32
Seninoa benefactors began to fracture.
5:35
Osguera and his core leadership wanted
5:38
independence. They wanted to control
5:41
their own trafficking routes, their own
5:43
product, their own profits. Therefore,
5:46
they made a decision that would reshape
5:49
the entire Mexican underworld. In 2011,
5:53
they broke away completely, rebranded,
5:56
and announced themselves to the world
5:58
with a name that was both a declaration
6:01
and a warning. Cartel Yaliscoco Nova
6:04
Generation. The new generation Yalisco
6:07
cartel. The message was clear. This
6:10
wasn't the old guard. This was something
6:13
different.
6:15
Act two. The rise. The new model.
6:19
Between 2011 and 2015,
6:22
CJNG did something no other cartel had
6:25
done. They expanded at a speed that
6:28
shocked law enforcement on both sides of
6:30
the border. how they didn't just traffic
6:33
drugs. They built a vertically
6:35
integrated criminal enterprise.
6:38
CJNG controlled the production of
6:40
methamphetamine and synthetic opioids in
6:44
Clanderstein labs across Haliscoco and
6:46
Mitawakan. They didn't rely on Colombian
6:50
cocaine suppliers like the old cartels.
6:52
They manufactured their own product,
6:55
cutting out middlemen and maximizing
6:57
profit. According to DEA reports, CJNG
7:02
flooded the US market with high purity
7:04
methods.
7:09
Between 2011 and 2016,
7:12
meth seizures at the US Mexico border
7:15
increased by over 250%.
7:18
Much of it traced back to CJNG
7:20
operations, but production was only part
7:24
of the model. Distribution was the key.
7:27
Unlike traditional cartels that relied
7:30
on a few major smuggling corridors, CJNG
7:34
diversified. They used trucks, tunnels,
7:37
drones, fishing boats, and even
7:40
catapults to move product across the
7:42
border. They established cells in major
7:45
US cities, Los Angeles, New York,
7:47
Atlanta, Chicago, operating like
7:50
franchises with local leadership
7:52
reporting back to Halisco. By 2014, the
7:56
DEA identified CJNG operations in over a
8:00
dozen US states. By 2018, that number
8:04
had expanded to over 35 states. Yet,
8:08
expansion created conflict. Every
8:11
territory CJNG entered was already
8:13
controlled by someone else. Local gangs,
8:17
regional cartels, Cena affiliates. That
8:21
meant war. Think you know what happens
8:23
next? Keep watching. In 2015, CJNG made
8:28
a series of coordinated attacks across
8:31
Haliscoco that demonstrated a level of
8:33
organization and firepower Mexico had
8:37
rarely seen outside actual military
8:39
operations. They ambushed police
8:42
convoys, blockaded highways with burning
8:45
vehicles, and engaged in open firefights
8:48
in major cities. The helicopter attack
8:51
in July 2015 wasn't just violence. It
8:55
was a message. We have militarygrade
8:58
weapons, trained personnel, and we're
9:00
not afraid to use them against the
9:01
government. According to military
9:03
analysts who later reviewed footage and
9:05
tactics, CJNG had clearly trained
9:08
operatives in small unit tactics. They
9:10
moved with precision, communicated
9:12
effectively, and used terrain to their
9:14
advantage. Where did this training come
9:17
from? Investigators believe CJNG
9:20
recruited former Mexican military and
9:22
police, offering salaries that far
9:25
exceeded government pay. Some estimates
9:28
suggest CJNG foot soldiers earned
9:31
between $800 to $1,500
9:35
per month, double or triple what a
9:38
Mexican police officer made.
9:40
Nevertheless, money wasn't the only
9:42
tool. Fear was. CJNG became known for
9:47
public displays meant to terrorize
9:50
rivals and intimidate communities.
9:53
Without going into graphic detail, they
9:56
used psychological warfare to establish
9:59
dominance in contested regions, ensuring
10:02
that local populations wouldn't
10:04
cooperate with authorities or rival
10:06
groups. By 2016, when El Chapo was
10:10
captured and extradited to the United
10:12
States, many assumed the Sinaloa cartel
10:16
would collapse or fragment. Instead,
10:19
something else happened. CJNG saw an
10:22
opening. They launched aggressive
10:24
campaigns to seize Sinaloa controlled
10:27
territory, Tijana, Baja California,
10:30
parts of Sinaloa itself. The conflict
10:34
escalated into what some analysts called
10:36
a cartel war that has claimed tens of
10:39
thousands of lives across Mexico.
10:42
However, CJNG didn't just fight with
10:45
violence. They fought with innovation.
10:48
In 2017, Mexican authorities began
10:51
seizing CJNG drones rigged to carry
10:55
explosives. not hobby drones,
10:57
military-style UAVs capable of
11:00
delivering payloads with precision. This
11:03
was technology previously associated
11:05
with insurgent groups in the Middle
11:07
East, now adapted for cartel warfare. In
11:12
2020, a convoy of over 40 CJNG vehicles,
11:17
many armored, some mounted with heavy
11:19
weapons, was filmed rolling through
11:22
Kalisco in a show of force. The video
11:25
went viral. It looked less like a
11:28
criminal gang and more like a
11:29
paramilitary column. Mexican and US
11:32
authorities were forced to confront an
11:35
uncomfortable reality. CJNG wasn't just
11:39
a cartel. They were a hybrid
11:41
organization, part criminal enterprise,
11:44
part insurgent force. The scale of their
11:47
operations was staggering. By 2020, the
11:51
DEA estimated CJNG was responsible for
11:55
trafficking over 50 tons of
11:56
methamphetamine and cocaine into the
12:00
United States annually, generating
12:02
revenues in the tens of billions. Still,
12:05
there was a weakness. Rapid expansion
12:08
meant overreach. CJNG's aggressive
12:12
tactics created enemies on all sides.
12:15
the Sinaloa cartel, the Gulf cartel,
12:18
Lozeta's remnants, smaller regional
12:21
groups, even splinter factions within
12:23
CJNG itself began to break away, leading
12:27
to internal conflict. And then there was
12:29
Elmeno himself. Despite being one of the
12:33
most wanted men in the world, Mexican
12:35
and US authorities offered a combined
12:38
$10 million reward for his capture, he
12:41
remained free. Reports of his location
12:44
ranged from deep in the mountains of
12:47
Halisco to rumors he'd fled to South
12:49
America. But the truth is even stranger.
12:54
Act three, the fall or the evolution. In
12:58
2020, rumors began circulating that
13:01
Elmeno was seriously ill. Kidney
13:03
failure, diabetes.
13:05
Some reports claimed he was already dead
13:08
and CJNG leadership was hiding it to
13:11
avoid internal collapse. Mexican
13:14
authorities investigated. Intercepted
13:17
communications suggested there might be
13:19
truth to the health rumors. Yet no body
13:22
was ever found. No confirmation.
13:26
To this day, Elmeno's status remains one
13:29
of the biggest mysteries in the drug
13:31
war. If he's alive, he's maintained
13:34
operational security unlike any cartel
13:37
leader before him. No confirmed
13:40
photographs in over a decade. No
13:43
verified sightings, just orders that
13:46
continue to flow through the
13:48
organization. If he's dead, CJNG has
13:52
managed to continue operating at full
13:54
capacity without him, which might be
13:57
even more troubling. What happened next
13:59
shocked even seasoned investigators. In
14:02
2021 and 2022,
14:05
CJNG began a strategic pivot. Instead of
14:10
overt military confrontations, they
14:12
shifted toward corruption and
14:14
infiltration.
14:16
Mexican authorities arrested dozens of
14:18
local officials, police commanders, and
14:21
even military officers who were on
14:23
CJNG's payroll. In one case, the police
14:27
chief of a major city in Halisco was
14:30
found to be coordinating directly with
14:32
CJNG leadership, providing intelligence
14:35
on raids, warning of operations, even
14:38
supplying weapons. Revelation exposed
14:40
just how deeply CJNG had embedded itself
14:42
into Mexico's institutions. Therefore,
14:44
law enforcement faced a paradox. The
14:46
more they targeted CJNG's military
14:48
operations, the more CJNG adapted by
14:51
going deeper into the political and
14:52
economic system. By 2023, CJNG's
14:56
international expansion had reached
14:58
alarming levels. European authorities
15:01
dismantled CJNG distribution cells in
15:04
Spain, Italy, and Germany. Australian
15:07
police seized massive meth shipments
15:10
traced to CJNG labs in Mexico. Even in
15:14
Asia, investigators found evidence of
15:16
CJNG partnering with Chinese chemical
15:19
suppliers to obtain precursor chemicals
15:22
for synthetic drug production. This
15:25
wasn't a regional cartel anymore. This
15:28
was a global criminal network. Yet,
15:30
despite international pressure, arrests
15:33
of mid-level operators, and billions
15:35
spent on counter narcotics operations,
15:38
CJNG has not collapsed. Why? Some
15:43
experts argue it's because CJNG learned
15:46
from the failures of previous cartels.
15:49
They decentralized leadership. They
15:52
diversified revenue streams beyond
15:54
drugs, extortion, human smuggling,
15:56
illegal mining, fuel theft. They created
16:00
redundancies so that losing one leader
16:03
or one territory didn't the
16:05
organization.
16:07
Others believe it's simpler. As long as
16:10
there's demand for drugs in the United
16:12
States and Europe, there will be
16:14
organizations willing to supply them.
16:17
CJNG just happens to be the most
16:19
efficient at it right now. But the
16:22
question remains, what happens next? In
16:26
2024, the Mexican government launched
16:29
Operation Halisco, a coordinated effort
16:32
involving thousands of troops aimed
16:34
specifically at dismantling CJNG.
16:38
Early results showed some success.
16:41
Arrests, lab seizures, disrupted supply
16:44
lines.
16:45
Nevertheless, history suggests this
16:48
won't end CJNG. It will force them to
16:51
adapt again. The legacy of CJNG is
16:55
complicated. They represent the
16:57
evolution of organized crime in the 21st
17:00
century. more sophisticated, more
17:03
violent, more integrated into the global
17:06
economy than any cartel before them.
17:09
They've turned drug trafficking into a
17:12
modern enterprise that uses corporate
17:14
strategies, military tactics, and
17:17
technological innovation.
17:19
They've become a case study in how
17:21
criminal organizations adapt to
17:23
pressure, exploit weaknesses in
17:25
governance, and thrive in environments
17:28
of corruption and inequality. Yet,
17:31
they've also left behind a trail of
17:33
devastation, tens of thousands dead,
17:37
communities terrorized, institutions
17:39
corrupted, families destroyed. The CJNG
17:43
story isn't over. Eleno may be gone,
17:47
incapacitated, or still in command. But
17:50
the organization he built continues. And
17:53
here's the uncomfortable truth. Even if
17:56
CJNG is dismantled tomorrow, the model
17:59
they created will likely inspire the
18:02
next generation of cartels. The tactics,
18:05
the structure, the innovations, they're
18:08
now part of the playbook. So, what do
18:10
you think? Is CJNG truly more dangerous
18:14
than the Sinaloa cartel at its peak? Or
18:17
is this just the latest chapter in an
18:20
endless cycle? Can any law enforcement
18:23
operation truly dismantle an
18:25
organization this decentralized and
18:28
adaptive? And the biggest mystery, is
18:30
Eleno alive, directing operations from
18:34
the shadows? Or has CJNG evolved beyond
18:38
needing any single leader? The DEA still
18:41
lists him as one of the most wanted
18:44
fugitives in the world. Mexican
18:46
authorities continue the search, but
18:48
every month that passes without capture
18:51
deepens the question. CJNG called
18:54
themselves the new generation. They
18:56
weren't exaggerating. Drop your theory
18:58
in the comments. I read every single
19:01
one. And if you want to understand the
19:03
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