A high-ranking kingpin and so-called “Narco Prince” was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge on Friday in Washington, D.C. in one of the first drug war trials to conclude since the Trump administration declared certain Mexican cartels to be “terrorist” organizations.

Ruben Oseguera-Gonzalez is the U.S.-born son of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who founded the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and is Mexico’s most wanted man. While his father, alias “El Mencho,” is still at large, Oseguera, alias “El Menchito,” was convicted by a U.S. jury in September of conspiring to traffic cocaine and meth, and possessing weapons to further his drug trafficking operations.

Oseguera, 35, stood silently, with his left hand behind his back, as Judge Beryl A. Howell sentenced him to life in prison plus 30 years and ordered him to forfeit more than $6 billion. Oseguera refused to address the court when given the opportunity to do so. During the trial, prosecutors accused El Menchito of not only working for the criminal group, but helping found it and co-leading it, alongside his father. In a sentencing document, prosecutors placed El Menchito at the same level as other cartel leaders, including Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the former high-profile leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

“This defendant helped build Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación into a brutal terrorist organization that pumps poison onto our streets and commits horrific acts of violence,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement.

Since President Trump stepped into office, his administration has pushed for an even more aggressive approach to targeting drug smuggling organizations, as he also pressures the Mexican government to stem immigration and fentanyl trafficking by threatening tariffs. But the Trump administration’s actions, Oseguera’s sentencing, and major developments in judicial processes for over two-dozen high-profile traffickers will likely do little to reduce drug trafficking and drug war-related violence. Rather, it may further splinter criminal groups, leading to further violence in Mexico.

“The capture and imprisonment of alleged bosses of drug organizations only serves the purpose of propaganda for the militarized ‘drug war,’” said Oswaldo Zavala, a professor at the City University of New York. “They never interrupt the trafficking of drugs, and in many cases, it has the opposite effect: cheapening drug products and decreasing their quality, endangering the lives of consumers even more.”

In recent years, the CJNG has been a high-priority target for the U.S. government. As a relatively new organization, the group, armed with weapons sourced from the U.S., has rapidly grown to be one of Mexico’s largest criminal groups, controlling large,........

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