Wife of cartel leader who has $15 million bounty on his head in the U.S. is released from prison in Mexico

The wife of a powerful drug cartel boss — who has a $15 million bounty on his head in the U.S. — was released from prison in Mexico on Thursday, according to local media and judicial sources.

Rosalinda Gonzalez is married to Nemesio Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s largest, most powerful and ultra-violent criminal organizations.  

Gonzalez is believed to manage the financial operations of the cartel, which was among the Latin American drug trafficking groups designated as terrorist organizations by Washington last week.

Arrested in 2021, she was sentenced to five years in prison for the illicit financial operation of an organized criminal group.

A judicial source told AFP that a court hearing was scheduled inside the prison on Thursday to decide whether Gonzalez should be released on grounds of good behavior and having served more than half her sentence.

Local television footage later showed Gonzalez and her lawyer leaving the prison in the state of Morelos and driving away in a van.

Her release comes on the same day that 29 drug traffickers — including notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero — being held in Mexican prisons were extradited to the United States.

Mexico is hoping to make a deal with Washington and avoid being hit with trade duties that President Trump has linked to illegal migration and drug flows.

Mr. Trump has designated eight Latin American drug trafficking organizations as terrorist organizations, including the Jalisco cartel, which emerged in 2010.

Oseguera — better known by his nickname “El Mencho” —  is accused of fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking. He is one of the most wanted people in Mexico and the United States, where authorities have offered a $15 million reward for his capture.

In December, Mexican prosecutors launched an investigation after videos posted on social media from a town in the western state of Michoacan showed a sign at a Christmas fair thanking “El Mencho” for giving holiday gifts to children.

In November, the son-in-law of “El Mencho” was arrested in California after U.S. officials say he faked his own death to “live a life of luxury” north of the border.