Rubén Oseguera González (; born 14 February 1990), commonly referred to by his alias El Menchito (), is a Mexican-American convicted drug lord and former high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is the son of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), Mexico's formerly most-wanted man at the time of his death in 2026. Under his father, he allegedly worked as the CJNG's second-in-command and managed international drug trafficking operations. Oseguera González was first arrested in January 2014 in Jalisco, but was released in October for lack of evidence and re-arrested immediately as he walked out of prison. He was then released again in December after a judge considered the evidence against him as insufficient. In June 2015, Oseguera González was arrested again, released a month later, and re-arrested as his release order was made official. His legal case has highlighted the growing tensions and deficiencies between prosecutors and judges in Mexico.
In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia charged Oseguera González with international drug trafficking. According to the indictment, Oseguera González was responsible for shipping narcotics to the U.S. from Mexico between 2007 and 2017, and of using violence to further his criminal activities. Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs approved his extradition request in 2018, and Oseguera González's motions to prevent his transfer to the U.S. have been denied. In Mexico, he was facing trial for money laundering and illegal possession of military-exclusive firearms. After several appeals, Oseguera González was extradited to the U.S. in February 2020 and convicted by a Washington D.C.-based court in September 2024. On 7 March 2025 Oseguera González was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Early life and career Rubén Oseguera González was born on 14 February 1990, in San Francisco County, California. He also holds Mexican citizenship. He has several aliases, including "Rubén Garibay González", "El Junior", "El Rubencito", "El Rojo", "El Niño", and "El Menchito". His last nickname is a diminutive of his father's nickname El Mencho, which comes from the phonetic derivation of his name Nemesio. His mother, Rosalinda González Valencia, is the sister of Abigael González Valencia, a former leader of the Milenio Cartel and Los Cuinis. His father, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) until his death in 2026 and was one of Mexico's most-wanted men. Oseguera González has two sisters, Jessica Johana and Laisha.
According to Mexican government sources, Oseguera González acted as the CJNG's second-in-command, just below his father. He was allegedly responsible for managing the CJNG's operations in buying and selling narcotics from South America to Mexico. He was also accused of coordinating stolen gasoline sales in Jalisco, leading a group of hitmen who killed people who refused to work with the CJNG, overseeing a line of hitmen responsible for protecting CJNG's turf in Jalisco and Colima from rival gangs like the Knights Templar Cartel and Los Zetas, and managing the CJNG's financial assets.
2014 arrest Since 2013, Mexican authorities were investigating a public telephone booth line and two cellphones linked with high-ranking leaders of the CJNG. According to intelligence reports, one of the mobile lines received a call from the public booth line from a neighborhood Jardines Universidad in Zapopan, Jalisco, prompting an investigation. The Mexican Army asked the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) branch of the Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR) to investigate the neighborhood and the two mobile lines more closely. The Army began to dispatch undercover agents to monitor the neighborhood. On the evening of 29 January 2014, one of the mobile phones was located through geolocation at a neighborhood in Zapopan before it went out of service. The Army and the Navy decided to send a Special Forces unit from Mexico City to Zapopan to investigate the incident.
At 3:30 a.m. CT on 30 January, the Special Forces unit raided a residence in neighborhood Patria Universidad and discovered Oseguera González sleeping there. As the authorities took down the doors, Oseguera González woke up from the loud noise and jumped from his bed, ran to his backyard, and climbed the back wall to reach his neighbor's property. However, the Special Forces unit successfully surrounded the premises and reduced Oseguera González's escape options. He eventually submitted and was arrested in his neighbor's backyard. Two of his henchmen surrendered at the door without resisting arrest. Two others, who were renting a nearby house, fled on foot but were arrested too. Oseguera González reportedly offered the officers who detained him around MXN$17 million to let him go. Authorities confirmed that they confiscated between MXN$10 to $16 million and US$500,000 at the crime scene, as well as 4 assault rifles, 9 handguns, a grenade, and several rounds of ammunition. Former Attorney General of Mexico Jesús Murillo Karam confirmed to the press that no gunshots were fired in the operation.
Oseguera González was flown that day to Mexico City and taken to the SEIDO, Mexico's anti-organized crime investigatory agency, where he gave his statement and was interrogated by law enforcement. Government sources confirmed that he had no pending formal investigations or arrest warrants issued against him in Jalisco. On 1 February, Oseguera González was taken to Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 (also known as "Altiplano"), a maximum-security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico. Authorities confirmed that he was arrested because of pending charges of money laundering, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of weapons of military-exclusive use. Oseguera González pleaded not guilty and claimed that he worked in construction and was a car salesperson since he was 16 years old. He also claimed that he inherited properties from his mother after she bought them when he was younger and put them under his name.
In response to the military operation that resulted in Oseguera González's arrest, CJNG gunmen hijacked three buses and set them on fire throughout the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. No deaths or injuries were reported. The U.S. consulate in Guadalajara sent a warning to U.S. citizens in the city and asked them not to travel in the southern part of the urban area, including the main roads leading to the Guadalajara International Airport. Once the attacks concluded, the Mexican government asked civilians to remain calm and resume their daily activities. Authorities stated that they would remain on alert throughout the Guadalajara area for other violent responses from organized crime.
Releases On 16 October 2014, Oseguera González was released from Altiplano, but he was re-arrested immediately as he walked out of prison by members of the AIC. He was released because a judge from the State of Mexico absolved him from the following crimes: illegal possession of firearms, having weapons of military-exclusive use, use of resources from illicit origins, and crimes against public health. Once in custody, he was then taken to the SEIDO installations and imprisoned there for two months while the PGR worked on getting his jurisdiction to open a trial against him. On 18 December, he was sent to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 2 (also known as "Puente Grande"), a maximum-security prison in Jalisco.
On 26 December, Oseguera González was released from prison again after a judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence against him for the charges of drug trafficking, overseeing the CJNG's financial operations, and leading a group of hitmen.
2015 arrest On 23 June 2015, Oseguera González was arrested again by the Mexican Army and the Federal Police in the Lomas de Altamira neighborhood in Zapopan, Jalisco, this time along with his brother-in-law Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez. The operation lasted about 20 minutes and no shots were fired. The officers entered the private neighborhood in several vehicles at around 2:15 a.m. CT and subdued the entrance guard. They then shot the security cameras with paintball guns to obscure them, destroyed several others, and asked the guard to cut the electricity power in the vicinity. As they were in the entrance booth of the neighborhood, the telephone rang but none of them answered. The guard was then asked to kneel down while the officers entered the neighborhood and apprehended Oseguera González, who was inside a vehicle with Rodríguez Castillo. Authorities confiscated several weapons, including 2 customized AR-15 assault rifles engraved with the insignias "CJNG 02 JR" and "Menchito".
According to government sources, Oseguera González was trying keep a low profile and had undergone a nose surgery to alter his identity. He travelled without bodyguards to avoid attracting attention from law enforcement. The government officially confirmed his identity through DNA and physical tests, and photo evidence. At the time of his arrest, he was wanted for organized crime involvement, using resources from illicit origins (money laundering), and kidnapping. The government alleged that when Oseguera González was released from prison the year before, he rejoined the CJNG and began managing their international drug trafficking operations. Once in custody, he was sent to Mexico City and transferred to the SEIDO installations, where he gave his formal declaration. As Oseguera González arrived at the SEIDO via helicopter, a Black Hawk Federal Police helicopter with snipers guarded the premises.
On 27 June, a federal judge in Toluca issued an arrest warrant for Oseguera González. He was then transferred to Altiplano prison. Oseguera González's defense argued that their client was detained on illegal grounds because some of the charges he was arrested for were absolved by a judge before, add thus consisted double jeopardy. The PGR countered this argument by saying that the judge's actions did not mean an absolution from the charges imposed.
Release and re-arrest On 1 July 2015, a federal judge from the State of Mexico ordered Oseguera González's release after concluding that the evidence against him was insufficient and that his due process had been violated. The judge stated that when Oseguera González was arrested in June, the officers did not have an arrest warrant against him and entered his private property without legal authorization. He also stated that the detainee was in custody for 9 hours and without a lawyer before he was sent to the justice department. When the judge considered that authorities had failed to prove that Oseguera González was involved in organized crime, he was released. This was the third time he had been released in less than a year. However, as Oseguera González was walked out of Altiplano, he was re-arrested by the PGR, who had a pending arrest warrant against him. According to government sources, he was wanted for organized crime involvement and for participating in the disappearance of two individuals in Tepalcatepec, Michoacán. He was sent again to the SEIDO installations by helicopter and escorted by an armed Blackhawk helicopter.