By Robert Haugh

A Santa Clara man tied to one of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Erick Valencia Salazar, 49, admitted Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to conspiring to distribute cocaine for importation into the U.S.

Federal authorities say Valencia Salazar helped found the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho.”

Prosecutors said Valencia Salazar, also known as “El 85,” helped recruit cartel members, gather intelligence on rivals, and expand drug trafficking operations in Mexico.

They also said he used that information to target and kill rivals.

The Justice Department said hundreds of cartel members reported to him.

Valencia Salazar faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31.

The case gives Santa Clara an ugly connection to an international criminal organization blamed for extreme violence in Mexico and large-scale drug trafficking into the United States.

Mexican authorities sent Valencia Salazar to the U.S. in February 2025 as part of a group of cartel figures turned over to face American charges.

He had previously been arrested twice in Mexico.