Mexican Drug Cartel News 2016: Alleged Jalisco Nueva Generacion Financial Head Arrested 

It seems that the alleged financial brains behind the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been busted. Vice News reported that Elvis Gonzalez Valencia, brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mecho," has been taken into custody while recovering from a shooting.

The elusive head of the cartel, based in Jalisco, Gonzalez is the brother of Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, former head of the sister organization that is believed to run the Jalisco Cartel's finances, known as the Los Cuinis. She was captured last February in the nearby resort of Puerto Vallarta.

Eduardo Almaguer, Jalisco state's attorney general, told reporters on Sunday that the alleged financial brains of the New Generation Cartel was injured in a drive-by shooting while traveling from San Miguel El Alto.

Almaguer said that Gonzalez apparently stopped to relieve himself by the side of the road when he and his companions were attacked by a group of armed men in a pick-up truck. He was then taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his arm. While he used a fake name to get treated, he was identified by agents from the Special Investigation Unit For Organized Crime (SEIDO) as he was transferred to another hospital.

He then spent the weekend at the hospital in Guadalajara, guarded by soldiers as well as state and federal police officers. He was confirmed to have been flown to Mexico City on Sunday night, held to be questioned at the SEIDO headquarters.

The New Generation Cartel was founded five years ago and has already established itself as one of Mexico's most powerful enterprises. Its head, El Mencho, continues to evade arrest, although many members have already been captured in recent months.

Along with Gonzalez, El Mencho's brother Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, was detained in October, while his alleged second-in-command, Ivan Czarin Molina, was caught in November. His son Riben Oseguera Gonzales was also arrested in June.

MacLeans noted that the New Generation Cartel has become more aggressive than its rival in Sinaola. In 2015, they sent shockwaves through Mexico when they ordered the killing of federal policemen, set up roadblocks in the Jalisco state and even shot down an army helicopter.

However, the cartel is not the only one to blame, as Mexico has been peppered with gangs for a long time, and it seems that violence is on the rise again. 8,000 people were killed in the fist six months of 2015 alone. Many gangs also appear to be expanding their businesses beyond drug trafficking, touching on other crimes such as kidnappings, extortion and oil theft, among other things.