José González Valencia

José González Valencia (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse ɣon'sales βa'lenθja]; born 18 May 1975) is a Mexican suspected drug lord and former high-ranking leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is part of a clan that heads a CJNG money laundering branch known as Los Cuinis. Since 2015, González Valencia reportedly held a leading role within the CJNG as the security chief of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), the top leader of the criminal group. Security forces in the U.S. and Mexico suspect he was also responsible for coordinating drug trafficking operations from Mexico to the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

As the Mexican government crackdown on the CJNG, González Valencia fled to Bolivia in September 2015 using a Mexican passport with a fake name. Bolivian officials were not able to decipher his real identity because his alias was not on the Interpol watch-list and his passport had all international security features in place. He lived in Bolivia for two years, obtained a Bolivian foreigner ID card, and was granted temporary residency. In December 2017, he flew to Brazil to spend time with his family during Christmas and was arrested by the Federal Police. Brazilian authorities confirmed that the arrest was part of a request from the U.S. government for his extradition. In November 2021 he was extradited to the United States to face international cocaine trafficking charges. In June 2025, he would receive a 30 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to drug trafficking charges.