United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Mexican national was sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in the Portland area, the Oregon coast, and Olympia, Washington, leading to the murder of a victim who owed a drug debt.

Fernando Adolip Cruz-Lerma, 25, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay over $3,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, in April and May 2019, Cruz-Lerma conspired with others to engage in drug trafficking. In April, Cruz-Lerma transported a victim from the state of Washington to Clackamas County due to a drug debt that the victim owed to members of the drug trafficking conspiracy. The victim was killed by members of the drug trafficking conspiracy in furtherance of the conspiracy. Cruz-Lerma assisted with leaving the victim’s body along a rural road in Clackamas County after the victim had been killed.

In May 2019, Cruz-Lerma distributed approximately two pounds of methamphetamine. He returned to Mexico the following month. 

In May 2023, Cruz-Lerma’s co-conspirator, Marcos Alonso Castillo-Bernal, was sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment. A few days after that sentencing hearing, Cruz-Lerma flew from Mexico to Calgary, Canada, and was arrested by Canadian authorities on the arrest warrant issued in the District of Oregon.

On June 6, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a superseding indictment charging Cruz-Lerma with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances and distribution of methamphetamine. On April 7, 2026, Cruz-Lerma pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and distributing controlled substances.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Portland Police Bureau, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF) and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Homicide and Violent Crimes Unit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon is prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Canadian authorities to secure the arrest and July 2024 extradition of Cruz-Lerma from Canada.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Portland comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, DEA, USMS, IRS-CI, ATF, USPIS, CBP, TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, Oregon Air, Army National Guard Counterdrug program, and Oregon-Idaho HIDTA with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

CITF, led by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, works to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in and around Clackamas County, and reduce illegal drugs and related crimes throughout the community. The task force is comprised of members from the Canby Police Department, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, the FBI, and the Oregon National Guard Counterdrug Task Force. CCITF is supported by our community with the passage of the Public Safety Levy and grant funding from the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.