Erick Valencia, Known as "El 85" of the CJNG, Pleads Guilty in the US

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Today, Eric Valencia Salazar—a co-founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known by the aliases “El 85″ or “El Matazetas”—pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking. He is seeking procedural benefits or a reduction in his sentence, the details of which are scheduled to be announced on July 31 of this year. 

Eric Valencia Salazar pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine from Mexico into the United States. A native of Jalisco, he was an associate of Mexican criminals such as Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel Villarreal and Óscar “El Lobo” Nava Valencia, and he played a role in the founding of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

This Tuesday, he appeared before Judge James Boasberg at the courthouse in Washington, D.C. Operating under the alias “El 85,” he was arrested in Mexico on two occasions: in 2012 in Zapopan, Jalisco, and in 2022 in Tapalpa—the same municipality where “El Mencho” was killed. 

Valencia faced only one charge: cocaine trafficking, to which he pleaded guilty more than a year after being extradited. The plea agreement aims to secure a reduction in his sentence or grant him procedural benefits. However, that determination ultimately rests with the U.S. prosecution and the presiding judge at the time of sentencing.

“El 85″ is currently being held at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the first high-profile drug trafficker to reach a plea agreement among the nearly 100 individuals Mexico has extradited to the United States since February of last year. 

Mexican authorities assert that Valencia Salazar became involved in cocaine trafficking as an operative for Ignacio Coronel—alongside former leaders of the Milenio Cartel, Óscar and Juan Carlos Valencia (known as “El Lobo” and “El Tigre”)—and that he also participated in the founding of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) alongside Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho.” 

This alliance reportedly lasted until the latter—”El Mencho”—betrayed “El 85″ by handing him over to Mexican authorities in 2012. Consequently, after securing his release due to procedural errors in his case, Valencia joined a CJNG splinter group known as the Nueva Plaza Cartel, which sought to curb the Jalisco Cartel’s expansion, remaining active until his most recent arrest in 2022. 

Valencia Salazar is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31; by that date, both the defense and the U.S. prosecution must have submitted their respective sentencing memoranda.

Source: Milenio