$15 million reward offered for Mexican cartel leader

The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday said the U.S. government is offering $15 million for information leading to the arrest of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes. The leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or the CJNG Cartel, also goes by the name “El Mencho,” the DEA said. CJNG is one of the five most dangerous organized criminal organizations in the world, according to the DEA.

Isn’t $15 million a lot? In 2019, the U.S. government was offering $10 million for information leading to his arrest. CJNG has trafficked fentanyl into the United States alongside other illicit drugs, according to the U.S. Department of State. Specifically, the DEA earlier this week published reports saying CJNG was one of the main suppliers of fentanyl for dealers in Indiana and Illinois. Authorities have indicted Oseguera Cervantes several times since 2017, the State Department added.

Dig deeper: Listen to a report by Addie Offereins and Anna Johansen Brown on The World and Everything in It podcast about how the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in the United States has declined, even as the opioid epidemic persists.