Brazil arrests alleged Mexican cartel boss

On Wednesday, Brazilian police arrested an alleged Mexican drug cartel boss in a blow to one of the most powerful organizations in Mexico’s criminal underworld.

According to the arrest warrant, police detained José González Valencia , 42, a leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel ( CJNG ) and brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes , “El Mencho,” head of the CJNG.

José González Valencia was also known as “Chepa,” “Camarón,” or “Santy,” and he was in charge of protecting “El Mencho” and designing attacks against policemen.

Once a little-known gang, the CJNG has grown in recent years to challenge the Sinaloa Cartel of captured kingpin Joaquín “ El Chapo ” Guzmán for primacy of the drug trade in Mexico.

González Valencia was arrested at a beach resort near the coastal city of Fortaleza and brought to the headquarters of the federal police for the state of Ceará , Brazilian prosecutors said in a statement.

Gonzalez Valencia had been living in neighboring Bolivia for two years after fleeing Mexico and he had entered Brazil as a tourist using a Bolivian passport, in which he identified himself as a Mexican citizen, but with the false name of Jafett Arias Becerra , the statement added.

An official at the state prosecutor’s office in the western Mexican state of Jalisco said González Valencia is the brother of Abigael González Valencia , “El Cuini,” a CJNG leader captured in February 2015.

Jalisco is where the CJNG established itself and serves as a base for much of its operations.

The Jalisco official said González Valencia was due to be extradited straight to the United States from Brazil.

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