Antonio Oseguera Cervantes

Introduction

Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacán, Mexico — a career drug trafficker for several Mexican cartels and the brother of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho” — was sentenced to 270 months, or twenty-two and a half years, in a US federal prison for international drug trafficking and firearm offenses . Known in the underworld by the alias “Tony Montana,” he pleaded guilty to running cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States while armed . The sentence was announced by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the Drug Enforcement Administration on 13 November 2026 as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative .

Background Information

According to court documents, Oseguera Cervantes joined the Milenio Cartel in around 2002, shortly after serving a federal prison sentence in the United States for conspiracy to distribute heroin; he was then deported to Mexico, where he resumed his illicit activities . As a leader of the Milenio Cartel he oversaw narcotics sales, protected cartel territories from rival groups, and supervised and maintained methamphetamine laboratories . In 2010, after the Milenio Cartel’s top leader was arrested, its military faction separated to create the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG); his brother Nemesio — “Mencho” — was a co-founder who led the cartel from its inception in 2010 until he was killed in a Mexican military operation in February 2026 . Oseguera Cervantes reported directly to Mencho, worked with the CJNG-aligned cartel Los Cuinis, managed the cartel’s drug-proceed collection and laundering, and carried a pistol when collecting proceeds and attending trafficking meetings .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted drug trafficker: pleaded guilty to a cartel cocaine and methamphetamine conspiracy and to carrying a firearm in furtherance of it; 270 months in federal prison.

Oseguera Cervantes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine for importation into the United States, as well as using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy . Prosecutors said he distributed cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and supplied chemicals to methamphetamine laboratories, first for the Milenio Cartel and later for the CJNG . He was sentenced to 270 months in prison for the offenses .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The Justice Department framed the sentence as a message to cartel leadership. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division said that “for more than two decades” Oseguera Cervantes “helped fuel one of the world’s most dangerous drug trafficking organizations, flooding America’s communities with deadly drugs while enriching himself and his associates,” and that the sentence sends “a clear message to criminals around the world” . DEA Administrator Terry Cole said Oseguera Cervantes “was far more than El Mencho’s brother” and “played a significant role in building CJNG into one of the most violent foreign terrorist organizations in the world” . The case was announced as part of the Homeland Security Task Force established by Executive Order 14159 .

Current Status

Oseguera Cervantes is serving his 270-month federal sentence . He had been transferred from Mexico to the United States in February 2025 under Mexico’s national security law, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, which thanked the Government of Mexico for securing his presence for prosecution . The case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit in Los Angeles and prosecuted by Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit and trial attorneys Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel and Maryann McGuire of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section .

Impact on Their Career/Life

After more than two decades moving between the Milenio Cartel and the CJNG — interrupted once by a US heroin-conspiracy prison term and deportation — Oseguera Cervantes ends his trafficking career in an American prison at 67, with prosecutors citing his role in building and supplying one of the world’s most violent drug organizations as the reason his sentence was announced at the department’s highest level .

Sources

• “Mexican Cartel Leader Known As ‘Tony Montana’ Sentenced for Armed Drug Trafficking as Part of Homeland Security Task Force Initiative” — Office of Public Affairs / justice.gov, November 2026: source