Jalisco Cartel kingpin’s secret California ranch in Riverside County revealed

One of the world’s most-wanted drug traffickers owns an unsuspecting ranch in a Riverside County valley — and the federal government is trying to seize it.

Juan Carlos Valencia Gonzalez, 41, of Santa Ana, is the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, nearly five months after his stepfather, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, was killed during a Mexican military anti-drug operation.

When Valencia was just a 26-year-old living in Orange County, he bought a ranch in Hemet, California, that was offered to him for just $250,000.

The property sits in a ranching community surrounded by farmland and upscale homes, according to a visit by El Pais.

It was apparently Gonzalez’s “refuge” to escape from Santa Ana, where he was born and where relatives still live.

The property is still managed by the cartel leader’s uncle, a federal enforcement source told El Pais. Roosters, dogs and farm animals were still on the ranch, with signs hanging on a fence with labels such as “security cameras and audio recorder in use” or “beware of dogs.”

The U.S. Justice Department filed in court an attempt to seize the property last month, alleging it’s connected to Gonzalez. That case is pending.

The cartel leader, whose nicknames include “Baldy,” “Bimbo,” “Pelón” and “R-3”, comes from drug-dealer royalty on both sides of the family.

His biological father Armando Cornelio was the founder of the Milenio cartel in the 1970s. His mother remarried El Mencho and was part of the “Cuinis” gang, the financial branch of the Jalisco Cartel.

Valencia rose through the cartel ranks and became one of the leaders of “Grupo Elite,” the criminal organization’s armed wing.

Gonzalez, who has a $25 million reward hanging over his head, had “organized numerous violent acts… in addition to manufacturing, transporting, and distributing tons of narcotics,” according to the Department of Justice.

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The ranch is roughly 209,000 square feet, El Pais reported, and has seen its land value rise to up to $695,000 alongside California’s increasingly expensive housing market.

Reportedly, a horse trainer rents the property and paid a $1,500 monthly rent for the past three years in cash. But this month, the trainer got told he needed to leave.

“I didn’t ask questions because it’s not a good idea,” the tenant, who refused to be identified, told El Pais.

The tenant, who said he knows nothing about the owners, said the animals and other things seen on the ranch are his. He met Gonzalez through mutual acquaintances some time ago.

Gonzalez, a US citizen, is still on the loose. Earlier this month, the federal government announced new charges and rewards against Gonzalez and some of his cartel mates.

“The American people gave us a mandate to keep this country safe, and we will not rest until it is fulfilled,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.