Following the death of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, ‘El Mencho’, in February 2026, the US Department of the Treasury identified Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, alias ‘El Chorro’, as one of the possible successors in the CJNG.
Castillo Rodríguez, son-in-law of ‘El Mencho’ through his marriage to Jessica Johanna Oseguera González, was flagged by US authorities as a key financial operator for the cartel.
The Treasury Department listed ‘El Chorro’ among the seven most dangerous CJNG leaders and linked him to control of the port of Manzanillo in Colima.
According to reports, Castillo Rodríguez was detained twice in Mexico: on June 23, 2015, in Zapopan, Jalisco, and on April 6, 2016, in Guadalajara. He regained his freedom in both cases.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned him again for his strategic role in the organization after the death of ‘El Mencho’.
