Brother Of Slain Cartel Boss 'El Mencho' Caught Hiding In Warehouse Now Sentenced To 22.5 Years

A kingpin's brother runs out of road

Mexican soldiers found Antonio Oseguera Cervantes hiding in a warehouse near Guadalajara in December 2022, surrounded by a cache of weapons, according to the New York Post and the Justice Department.

He was extradited from Mexico to the United States in February 2025, handed over by the Mexican government along with other high-ranking cartel leaders, the Associated Press reported.

He pleaded guilty in federal court in Washington, DC, this July to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States, and to carrying a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking conspiracy.

On Friday, a federal judge sentenced him to 270 months — 22 and a half years — in prison, the Justice Department said. He's 67. By the time that sentence runs out, he'll be close to 90.

His brother, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes — the cartel boss known as "El Mencho" — was killed in a Mexican military operation in February, according to the Justice Department.

The man who called himself Tony Montana

On the street, Oseguera Cervantes went by "Tony Montana," a nod to the fictional cocaine trafficker Al Pacino played in Scarface, the New York Post noted. CBS News also refers to him by that nickname.

The Justice Department, the New York Post and CBS News all list him as 67 years old. The Associated Press, in coverage carried by the Bangor Daily News, CoastTV and ABC News, lists him as 68. Both sides agree he's from Michoacán, Mexico.

His brother "El Mencho" co-founded and led the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación — CJNG — from its founding in 2010 until his death, the Justice Department said. CBS News reports the Trump administration designated CJNG and other cartels as foreign terrorist organizations last year.

Before CJNG existed, Oseguera Cervantes worked for the Milenio Cartel, which he joined around 2002, shortly after finishing a federal prison sentence in the US for conspiracy to distribute heroin, according to the Justice Department. He was deported to Mexico and went back to trafficking. When the Milenio Cartel's top leader was arrested in 2010, its military faction split off and became CJNG — the organization his brother would go on to lead.

Inside CJNG, Oseguera Cervantes reported directly to his brother and worked alongside Los Cuinis, a cartel aligned with CJNG, the Justice Department said.

"One of my greatest fears is that I will die far away from my family," — Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, in a letter to the sentencing court, per the Associated Press

The charges, the plea and the 270 months

Oseguera Cervantes pleaded guilty to two federal counts: conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, intended for importation into the United States, and using, carrying and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that conspiracy, according to the Justice Department and CBS News.

The Justice Department's press release says he was sentenced to 270 months — 22 and a half years — for the combined drug trafficking and firearm offenses.

According to the Justice Department, as a leader of the Milenio Cartel he oversaw narcotics sales, protected cartel territory from rival groups, and supervised and maintained methamphetamine laboratories. Once he was working for CJNG, prosecutors say he managed the cartel's collection and laundering of drug proceeds, and carried a pistol while collecting that money and attending meetings about trafficking.

It wasn't his first conviction. He had already served a federal sentence in the United States for conspiracy to distribute heroin before he was deported and went straight back into the business, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors wanted 30 years, his lawyers wanted 20

Federal prosecutors in Washington asked the judge for a 30-year sentence, pointing to Oseguera Cervantes's role managing CJNG's drug proceeds, overseeing money laundering, and supervising meth labs, the Associated Press reported.

"Rival cartels rarely settle disputes through diplomacy alone," prosecutors wrote in court papers, according to the Associated Press. "And while there may be no nonviolent drug cartels in Mexico, (Oseguera Cervantes) was a member of particularly brutal cartels."

His attorneys asked for 20 years, arguing in court filings that he "accepts full responsibility for his crimes and 'blames no one except himself,'" per the Associated Press. They noted he had already spent years in Mexican custody for largely the same conduct before his extradition.

Oseguera Cervantes also wrote a letter to the court. He said he is "deeply sorry for my actions and for the harm they caused," according to the Associated Press. "One of my greatest fears is that I will die far away from my family," he wrote. "I love my children and my family very much, and I hope that I may one day have the opportunity to spend the remaining years of my life with them."

The judge landed between the two requests — 22.5 years, above what the defense asked for and below what prosecutors sought.

What the Justice Department and DEA said

"For more than two decades, Antonio 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," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, in a statement reported by the Justice Department and CBS News.

"Oseguera Cervantes' sentence sends a clear message to criminals around the world that the Department of Justice is committed to the total elimination of drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations, including the CJNG," Duva said, per the Justice Department and the Associated Press.

DEA Administrator Terry Cole said the case reaches beyond family ties. "Oseguera Cervantes was far more than El Mencho's brother," Cole said, according to the Justice Department. "He played a significant role in building CJNG into one of the most violent foreign terrorist organizations in the world, trafficking massive quantities of dangerous drugs that have devastated American families and communities. Together, DEA and the Homeland Security Task Force will stop at nothing to hold those who lead, finance and enable these cartels accountable."

"The sentencing of Oseguera Cervantes demonstrates that no cartel leader is beyond the reach of American justice," Cole added, per the Justice Department.

The Justice Department said the case was investigated by the DEA's Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit in Los Angeles and prosecuted by its Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, as part of a Homeland Security Task Force initiative established under Executive Order 14159.

What happens next

The sentencing closes this phase of the case; none of the coverage points to a scheduled appeal or further hearing. The prosecution was built as part of a broader Homeland Security Task Force push against CJNG leadership, and the Justice Department has signaled it intends to keep pursuing cartel figures tied to the organization — whether any of Oseguera Cervantes's co-defendants or associates face charges next is not addressed in the current coverage.