United States Drug Enforcement Administration

HOUSTON - A Mexican national and high-ranking, violent member of the Los Zetas cartel was sentenced today to over 31 years in prison for conspiring to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana. He was also ordered to pay $26.5 million in forfeiture.

“Eleazar Medina-Rojas used extreme violence to rise through the ranks of Los Zetas, and, as a plaza boss, ensured that the cartel maintained control over key drug trafficking routes used to direct cocaine and marijuana into the United States, devastating our communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is a powerful reminder that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and bring to justice violent cartel members and hold them accountable for the death and destruction they have committed here in the United States and abroad.”

“For four years, Medina-Rojas had a tight grip on routes where he was able to smuggle more than 3,000 tons of drugs into our Southern Texas border,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen of the Houston Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Medina-Rojas controlled the routes leading to Brownsville, Laredo, and McAllen, eliminating anyone who stood in the way of his profit. DEA Houston agents' relentless work disrupted his drug trafficking routes, which eventually led to his capture, weakening the ruthless Los Zetas drug trafficking organization.”

According to court documents, Eleazar Medina-Rojas, also known as El Chelelo, 53, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, was a member of Los Zetas, a drug trafficking organization comprised primarily of former Mexican military officers that began as an armed militaristic wing of the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas later formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel, and they collectively operated under the name “The Company.” Medina-Rojas was responsible for enforcement actions and protection of drug trafficking routes, which he often carried out through violence, threats of violence, and the use of weapons. For example, Medina-Rojas participated in acts of violence against rival drug trafficking groups during conflicts for control over drug plazas and trafficking routes. Medina-Rojas rose through the ranks of The Company and held important leadership roles, including directly facilitating cocaine and marijuana trafficking into and within the United States. Between 2006 and 2007, he served as regional leader, known as a “plaza boss,” in Monterrey, Mexico, commanding dozens of members of The Company in drug trafficking activity and acts of violence. Rojas was personally responsible for the importation of more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana into the United States.

The DEA Houston Division investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and July 2023 extradition of Medina-Rojas.

Trial Attorneys Jayce Born, Kirk Handrich, and Hunter Smith of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhoods.