Gerardo González Valencia
Gerardo González Valencia (Spanish pronunciation: [xe'ɾaɾdo ɣon'sales βa'lenθja]; born c. 1976) is a Mexican convicted drug lord and high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. He is part of a clan that heads a CJNG money laundering branch known as Los Cuinis. He was responsible for coordinating international money laundering schemes by using shell companies to purchase assets in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. His wife Wendy Dalaithy Amaral Arévalo was reportedly working with him on this large money laundering scheme when the couple moved from Mexico to Uruguay in 2011.
Gerardo González Valencia | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1976 Mexico |
| Employer(s) | Los Cuinis Jalisco New Generation Cartel |
| Criminal charges |
|
| Criminal penalty | Life in prison |
| Criminal status | Convicted |
| Spouse | Wendy Dalaithy Amaral Arévalo |
| Relatives | Abigael González Valencia (sibling) |
The original documents of the investigation framing González Valencia were leaked in 2015 through the Panama Papers, where it detailed real estate transactions and industrial sector investments tied to him. After a multi-year investigation by Latin American officials and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, González Valencia was arrested in Montevideo, Uruguay, in April 2016, and imprisoned for money laundering charges. He was wanted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. In May 2020, he was extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2023.