Leader of International Drug Trafficking Organization Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

Jose Gonzalez-Valencia, aka Chepa, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today to international cocaine trafficking.

In December 2017, Brazilian authorities arrested Gonzalez-Valencia, 47, at the request of the United States. He was extradited from Brazil to the United States in November 2021.

According to court documents, between 2006 and October 2016, Gonzalez-Valencia was a leader of the Los Cuinis, an international drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for importing large quantities of cocaine from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and elsewhere into the United States.

As noted in court documents, Los Cuinis is closely aligned with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which is based in the State of Jalisco in Mexico. Together, Los Cuinis and CJNG form one of the largest, most dangerous, and prolific drug cartels in Mexico. They are responsible for trafficking significant quantities of illegal drugs into the United States and employing extreme violence to further that objective. Gonzalez-Valencia is the brother of Los Cuinis leaders Abigael Gonzalez-Valencia and Gerardo Gonzalez-Valencia, and the brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka Mencho, the leader of CJNG. 

“Gonzalez Valencia worked with Los Cuinis and the CJNG to bring thousands of kilos of drugs into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case sends a clear message that the Criminal Division is committed to protecting our communities, dismantling the drug trafficking organizations that prey on them for profit, and holding traffickers like Gonzalez Valencia accountable.”

“CJNG is responsible for vast quantities of deadly illegal drugs that are being distributed across the United States,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the DEA. “Today’s guilty plea reflects the men and women of the DEA’s unwavering commitment to hold all drug traffickers accountable that seek to profit from CJNG’s violent and deadly drug trafficking network.”

Gonzalez-Valencia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 7, 2023 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

This case is supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 

The DEA Los Angeles Field Division is investigating the case.

Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni and Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef and Kirk Handrich of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.  

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs thanks Brazilian authorities for their assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Gonzalez-Valencia.