Mexican Cartel Leader Known as 'Tony Montana' Sentenced to 270 Months for Armed Drug Trafficking
The Justice Department's Office of Public Affairs announced on November 13 that Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, a Mexican cartel leader known as 'Tony Montana,' was sentenced that day to 270 months in prison for international drug trafficking and firearm offenses. Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacan, Mexico, is a career drug trafficker for several Mexican cartels.
Oseguera Cervantes is the brother of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as 'El Mencho,' a co-founder of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) 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 and worked with a CJNG-aligned cartel named Los Cuinis.
According to court documents, Oseguera Cervantes distributed cocaine and methamphetamine for importation into the United States and supplied chemicals to methamphetamine laboratories, initially for the Milenio Cartel and later for the CJNG. He joined the Milenio Cartel in around 2002, shortly after serving a federal prison sentence for conspiracy to distribute heroin in the United States, and 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 CJNG.
Oseguera Cervantes also managed CJNG's drug proceed collection and laundering and was armed with a pistol when collecting proceeds and attending meetings to discuss drug trafficking. He previously 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. In February 2025 he was transferred from Mexico to the United States pursuant to Mexico's national security law, with assistance from the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, and the Justice Department thanked the Government of Mexico for its assistance.
The DEA's Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit Los Angeles investigated the case. Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit and Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel, and Maryann McGuire of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section prosecuted the case.
'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. 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 is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国土安全部总部大楼航拍（固定图库联邦核心包），本案属国土安全工作队（HSTF）行动。美国国土安全部官方图、公共领域。 / Photo: Aerial view of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters (fixed federal-core asset-pack image); the case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative. Photo: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, public domain.
