The Mexican Army stated that Valencia became one of the leading members of following the arrest of several of his superiors. On 28 October 2009, Nava was arrested by the Army in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Several months later on 9 May 2010, security forces arrested Juan Carlos Nava Valencia (alias "El Tigre") and his sister Jacqueline Patricia Nava Valencia in Guadalajara. Later that year, Coronel Villarreal was killed in a clash with the Mexican Army. His death prompted an internal strife within the Milenio Cartel; on one front, Valencia, Martín Arzola Ortega (alias "El 53"), and Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho") wanted to command the Milenio Cartel. The other front was headed by Elpidio Mojarro Ramírez (alias "El Pilo") and Víctor Manuel Torres García (alias "El Papirrín").
