{"id":81808,"date":"2026-09-06T23:36:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/81808\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T23:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:36:50","slug":"federal-government-moves-to-seize-suspected-cartel-leaders-hemet-ranch-press-enterprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/81808\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal government moves to seize suspected cartel leader\u2019s Hemet ranch \u2013 Press Enterprise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors are moving to seize a Hemet ranch allegedly owned by a fugitive identified by authorities as the suspected leader of one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful and violent drug cartels.<\/p>\n

A federal civil forfeiture action filed in July by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges the 4.8-acre property on Three Springs Road is connected to Juan Carlos Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez, 41, who was born in Santa Ana<\/a> and is one of the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s most wanted fugitives.<\/a>\u00a0A $25 million reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest and\/or conviction.<\/p>\n

Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez, who uses the monikers \u201cPelon,\u201d \u201cTricky Tres,\u201d \u201c03\u201d and \u201cEl 3,\u201d was indicted in October 2020<\/a> for conspiring to traffic cocaine and methamphetamine and related firearms offenses. In August, federal prosecutors identified Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez as the top leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) following the death of his stepfather, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, in February.<\/p>\n

Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez, who remains on the lam, could face two consecutive life sentences if convicted.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A blank title sign is seen near the 4.8-acre ranch property in Hemet, allegedly owned by Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, the suspected leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful and violent drug cartels. The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to seize the property. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The U.S, Department of Justice is seeking to seize this 4.8-acre ranch property in Hemet, allegedly owned by Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, the suspected leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful and violent drug cartels. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to seize this 4.8-acre ranch property in Hemet, allegedly owned by Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, the suspected leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful and violent drug cartels. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

A blank title sign is seen near the 4.8-acre ranch property in Hemet, allegedly owned by Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, the suspected leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful and violent drug cartels. The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to seize the property. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the DOJ,<\/a> CJNG produces and traffics tons of drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamine, into the United States, using extreme violence to further its operations. On Feb. 20, 2025, the State Department designated CJNG a foreign terrorist organization.<\/p>\n

A year later, in February 2026, Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s stepfather, Oseguera Cervantes \u2014 the cartel\u2019s longtime leader who was known as \u201cEl Mencho\u201d \u2014 was killed in a Mexican military operation. Court filings say Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez assumed CJNG\u2019s leadership following El Mencho\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

CJNG\u2019s operations span much of Mexico and extend into all 50 U.S. states and dozens of countries, according to a 2023 DOJ report.<\/a> Along with the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco Cartel and their affiliates control the vast majority of the fentanyl global supply chain, from manufacture to distribution, the report said.<\/p>\n

The DOJ also announced in August<\/a> new charges against five other senior CJNG leaders, alleging their involvement in drug trafficking, weapons offenses and violent enforcement operations. Prosecutors also detailed an international fraud scheme that allegedly targeted thousands of Americans who owned timeshare properties in Mexico.<\/p>\n

Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez was just 26 years old, and reportedly still living in Orange County, when he was offered the Hemet property in 2011. Property records show that Hemet Auto Center Leasing Inc. sold the land to Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez on March 30, 2011, for $250,000. The buyer\u2019s name is listed in property records as Juan Carlos Gonz\u00e1lez.<\/p>\n

Property records show $3,747 in property taxes were paid on the property in 2025.<\/p>\n

The assessed value of the property is now $326,692<\/a>, according to the Riverside County Assessor\u2019s Office, and Realtor.com estimates the market value at $841,000.<\/a><\/p>\n

El Pais, a Spanish news publication, reported that the U.S. government has had Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s ranch in its sights for years<\/a>. Citing an anonymous source from the Drug Enforcement Administration, El Pais reported that the property is currently managed by Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s maternal uncle, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Gonz\u00e1lez Valencia, who lives in Orange County.<\/p>\n

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said the Hemet ranch tied to the suspected drug lord is only one example of a much larger network of cartel-linked properties across Riverside County.<\/p>\n

He said he was unaware of the particular Hemet property before the federal forfeiture action filed in the District of Columbia, but that it did not surprise or concern him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the big deal in this? It\u2019s just funny to me,\u201d Bianco said. He said cartel-linked properties number in the hundreds across communities such as Hemet, Perris, Mead Valley and Riverside.<\/p>\n

And while Valencia Gonz\u00e1lez is a U.S. citizen, Bianco argued that many cartel leaders and their lieutenants are not, and that California\u2019s sanctuary laws have restricted local law enforcement\u2019s ability to investigate the immigration status and broader activities of people with suspected connections to international drug-trafficking organizations.<\/p>\n

He specifically cited Senate Bill 54, California\u2019s 2017 sanctuary-state law, which limits when state and local law enforcement agencies can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Bianco said the restrictions have left local law enforcement with limited options when investigating suspected cartel activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know there are hundreds of properties in Riverside County that belong to foreign nationals involved in the drug trade, and we can\u2019t do anything about it,\u201d Bianco said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal prosecutors are moving to seize a Hemet ranch allegedly owned by a fugitive identified by authorities as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[378,1484,11474,30482,30483,2670,273,10609,4026,95],"class_list":["post-81808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-valencia","tag-california","tag-courts","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-drug-related-crime","tag-hemet","tag-law-enforcement","tag-news","tag-riverside-county","tag-top-stories","tag-valencia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}