Mexico drug cartel co-founder pleads guilty in U.S. conspiracy case

On 2026-04-07, Erick Valencia Salazar pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., to a U.S. federal narcotics conspiracy charge for conspiring to distribute cocaine for importation into the United States. He was a co-founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and faces a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence, with sentencing scheduled for July 31.