MIAMI – The leader of Frente 33, part of the FARC dissident group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), a designated foreign terrorist organization, was extradited from Colombia to the Southern District of Florida on Thursday to face federal charges stemming from an alleged international cocaine trafficking...

LAREDO, Texas – A 34-year-old man has been ordered to prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl that resulted in the death of another person. Rene Antonio Melendez pleaded guilty June 29. U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered Melendez to serve 252 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by...

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced in federal court to 200 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division Miguel C. Madrigal and U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western...

SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas and the Drug Enforcement Administration San Antonio Field Division announced the establishment of an Overdose Task Force aimed at investigating overdose cases in the San Antonio metropolitan area. The Overdose Task Force was employed in support of...

LAREDO, Texas – The final defendant in a three-person drug trafficking conspiracy has been ordered to federal prison for distributing fentanyl and heroin. Freddy Serano, 42, pleaded guilty April 7. On Sept. 16, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ordered Serano to serve 18 months in federal prison to be...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 40-year-old Baytown man has been sentenced for possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Pablo Luis Fuentes-Rivas pleaded guilty July 2, 2025. At a Sept. 17 hearing, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ordered Fuentes-Rivas to serve 70 months in federal prison. His prison term will be...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 29-year-old woman has been sentenced for possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Laura Janette Gonzalez pleaded guilty Sept. 21, 2025. U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered Gonzalez to serve 25 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 27-year-old man has been sentenced for possession with intent to deliver cocaine and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Eduardo Rodriguez Jr. pleaded guilty Nov. 5, 2024. U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera ordered Rodriguez to serve 125 months in federal prison at a hearing Aug. 26, which...

MIAMI – Five defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into South Florida aboard sport fishing vessels from the Dominican Republic. According to court records, Andy Gabriel Mercedes-Hernandez, 32; Jesus Alberto Salcedo-Perez, 32; Keisy Estibet Peguero, 38; Enmanuel Amauris Rivera-Cabrera, 32; and Mario Joel Rijo-Jimenez...

MIAMI – Ten defendants have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a South Florida cocaine trafficking conspiracy that involved cocaine supplied by a Mexican drug cartel and others. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles sentenced Reinaldo Fernandez, 63, to 188 months in federal prison; Javier Garcia-Mora, 40...