PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, DEA, and EPA Announce Indictment in Massive Navajo Nation Marijuana Cultivation Scheme

January 30, 2025
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … marijuana farms operated by Dineh Benally in Estancia, New Mexico (as well as his residence), law enforcement … to dismantle criminal organizations operating in New Mexico." said Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the …
January 30, 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION

El Paso News 2010

July 15, 2021
… 11, 2010 Three DEA El Paso Fugitives Extradited from Mexico November 19, 2010 DEA Operations Dismantle Two Major … Prompts Arrests of Drug Traffickers in Southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas November 5, 2010 Andrews Man … August 17, 2010 Cuidad Juarez Trafficker Extradited from Mexico July 9, 2010 Federal Prison Sentences Handed Down to …
July 15, 2021
PRESS RELEASE

Multi-Agency Investigation Results in Indictment and Arrest of “Drug Kingpin”

September 15, 2021
… Miguel Baez Guevara, 38, a United States citizen living in Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury on 17 counts … his leadership role in trafficking narcotics directly from Mexico to Alaska. Guevara was arrested by Mexican … from the Instituto Nacional de Migración in Sonora, Mexico, on Friday, September 10, and deported to the United …
September 15, 2021
PRESS RELEASE

Former Mexican Governor Extradited To The Southern District Of Texas

April 20, 2018
… Ruvalcaba, the former governor of the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and a former PRI Party candidate for Mexican … along the southern border between the United States and Mexico directly across from Brownsville and Laredo. … also collected bribes from commercial operations in Mexico, according to the indictment. Cano operated …
April 20, 2018
PRESS RELEASE

Fifteen Men Charged With Trafficking Drugs In Bernalillo And Santa Fe Counties

December 12, 2013
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … the result of an 18-month investigation by the DEA and New Mexico DEA Region I HIDTA Task Force into a drug trafficking … by the Albuquerque office of the DEA and the New Mexico DEA Region I HIDTA Task Force, with assistance from …
December 12, 2013
PRESS RELEASE

Dallas Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Non-U.S. Citizens Resulting in Migrant’s Death

May 11, 2023
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … and harbor undocumented immigrants into the U.S. from Mexico through Hudspeth County from on or about November … networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or …
May 11, 2023
PRESS RELEASE

Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Organization Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison

April 07, 2023
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 47, ran a drug trafficking organization, spanning from Mexico to El Paso and on to Atlanta, from 2002 to 2019. In … Cartel operatives. In 2014, Sanchez Morales returned to Mexico to run his organization, which would then primarily …
April 07, 2023
PRESS RELEASE

Large-Scale Drug Traffickers Convicted by Federal Jury

November 10, 2022
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … a large-scale drug trafficking organization, spanning from Mexico to El Paso and on to Atlanta, from 2002 to 2019. In … Cartel operatives. In 2014, Sanchez-Morales returned to Mexico to run his organization, which would then primarily …
November 10, 2022
PRESS RELEASE

Jury Convicts Five Traffickers for Attempting to Smuggle More Than $20 Million of Cocaine in International Waters

August 23, 2022
… that a federal jury has found Isaac Enriquez Oyando (34, Mexico), Romeo Santos Hernandez (36, Mexico), John Macias Agua (34, Ecuador), Jaime Velez … smuggling 760 kilograms of cocaine from South America to Mexico. On January 14, 2021, aerial surveillance spotted a …
August 23, 2022
PRESS RELEASE

Cartel Traffickers Sentenced For Multi-kilogram Drug Conspiracy

April 04, 2022
… of imprisonment for Juan Jose Garcia Lerma, 45, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, while Jorge Luis Castellanos De La Mora, 37, Michoacan, Mexico, received 67 months. Not U.S. citizens, they are … Manuel Enrique Ayala Rodriguez, 45, both of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, were each sentenced to 192 months. Giovani Mendez …
April 04, 2022
PRESS RELEASE

Fugitive Wanted For The Kidnapping And Murder Of A Federal Agent Is Added To The FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” List

April 12, 2018
… and work with our law enforcement partners here and in Mexico to develop the information that will lead to the … and was in charge of the cartel in Costa Rica and the U.S./Mexico border. In November of 1984, Mexican authorities … close to unlocking a million-dollar drug pipeline from Mexico to the U.S. in 1985. Before he was able to expose the …
April 12, 2018
PRESS RELEASE

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the West Metro Drug Task Force dismantle international cocaine trafficking ring

September 05, 2018
… drug trafficking network that transported cocaine from Mexico into the United States to a distribution network in … 4, the DEA Charleston SC Resident Office, the DEA Juarez Mexico Resident Office, and the DEA Beijing, China Country … of cocaine from various sources from the Republic of Mexico into the U.S.  At times, the group utilized …
September 05, 2018
PRESS RELEASE

Operation Boyztown Results in Rare Life Sentence for Methamphetamine Distributor

May 05, 2020
… distribution organization with direct links to Sinaloa, Mexico; Phoenix, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sioux … in Arizona, brokered methamphetamine transactions between Mexico-based cartel operatives and local drug traffickers in … the urgent need to control our international border with Mexico and the need to remove criminal aliens from the …
May 05, 2020
PRESS RELEASE

La Familia Michoacan Drug Cartel Leader Sentenced To 43 Years In Federal Prison

April 11, 2018
… run concurrently. Rueda-Medina was arrested in Michoacàn, Mexico on July 11, 2009, and was extradited to the United … through border checkpoints near Laredo, Texas and Tijuana, Mexico. Rueda-Medina was arrested on July 11, 2009, by … LFM used a sophisticated network of individuals in Mexico and the United States to distribute the …
April 11, 2018
PRESS RELEASE

Leader Of Guadalajara And Sinaloa Cartels Charged With Conspiring To Murder A DEA Agent As Part Of A Continuing Criminal Enterprise

April 12, 2018
… grateful appreciation to the DEA Offices in Long Island and Mexico City, the United States Department of State, the … Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in February 1985. Caro Quintero is also charged with … from these drug sales were then transported back to Mexico. As the leader of the criminal enterprise, Caro …
April 12, 2018
PRESS RELEASE

Alleged El Paso Cell Ringleader For Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Drug Trafficking Organization Detained Pending Trial

August 27, 2013
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … and the repatriation of drug proceeds to the Republic of Mexico announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman and … El Paso; 30-year-old Juan Carlos Campa-Gutierrez of Juarez, Mexico; 44-year-old Cesar Ricardo Olague-Duran, of Juarez, …
August 27, 2013
PRESS RELEASE

18 Operation Trena Sin Trono Defendants Plead Guilty

September 24, 2015
… shipments for the Zetas Cartel in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The Trejo-Nava drug trafficking organization … drug proceeds from the Dallas area to Laredo and then to Mexico. The marijuana loads were fronted to distributors in … trailer to Laredo and  then to into the Republic of  Mexico. Erika Alvarez was identified as a courier of drug …
September 24, 2015
PRESS RELEASE

DEA And USPIS Investigation Leads To Indictment Of 28 Individuals For Conspiracy To Possess With Intent To Distribute Marijuana

September 27, 2011
… in the districts of Puerto Rico, California, Florida and Mexico, using the United States Postal (USPS). According to … suppliers would purchase marijuana, originally from Mexico in bulk so that it could be packaged and sent to … a drug trafficking organization from its root: starting in Mexico, where the marijuana was bought then transported …
September 27, 2011
PRESS RELEASE

Alleged Leader Of A Mexican Drug Cartel Extradited To United States

November 17, 2014
… the United States, was extradited to the United States from Mexico on Nov. 15, 2014, and made an initial appearance this … in this country and sowed violence and chaos throughout Mexico,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Edge.  “The … of cocaine from South America, through Central America and Mexico, and finally into the United States via land, air and …
November 17, 2014
PRESS RELEASE

Key Leader Of South American Drug Cartel Sentenced To Thirty-Four Years In Prison

September 26, 2011
… and planes to take tons of cocaine from South America to Mexico for further distribution into the United States; and … was transported, and then wired more than $491,000 from Mexico as a down payment for transporting 10 tons of cocaine from the coast of Ecuador to Mexico.  During the negotiations, members of the …
September 26, 2011
PRESS RELEASE

Eastern District Of California Actions In “Project Delirium”

July 21, 2011
… suppliers, and a “border boss” operating in Mexicali, Mexico, who was responsible for coordination of narcotics shipments between the United States and Mexico. Law enforcement agents seized more than 145 pounds … fight against the drug trafficking organizations,” said Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security Genaro Garcia Luna. …
July 21, 2011
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Statement On The Arrest Of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera

February 24, 2014
… "El Chapo" Guzman Loera was a significant achievement for Mexico and a major step forward in our shared fight against … of the alleged head of the Sinaloa Cartel.  The DEA and Mexico have a strong partnership and we will continue to support Mexico in its efforts to improve security for its citizens …
February 24, 2014
PRESS RELEASE

Five Indicted In International Narcotics And Kidnapping Conspiracy: Mexican Source Of Supply

April 23, 2015
… for large shipments of narcotics to be transported from Mexico and sold in New York City and elsewhere in the … that Pagan maintained contact with drug suppliers in Mexico linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. Pagan arranged for … two shipments of cocaine from a new source of supply in Mexico totaling 11 (24 lbs.). On December 19, Pagan told …
April 23, 2015
PRESS RELEASE

Zeta Commander “Taliban” Facing Trial In The U.S.

November 22, 2013
… 2013. Velasquez-Caballero, 43, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been in custody in Mexico since Sept. 26, 2012, when he was arrested in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He was extradited under the treaty between the …
November 22, 2013
PRESS RELEASE

Fort Worth Couple Sentenced For Roles In Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

December 07, 2015
… kilogram-quantities of methamphetamine from a source in Mexico that he subsequently distributed in the Dallas - Fort … She also received instructions from a person in Mexico as to how to wire or otherwise return the drug proceeds to the person in Mexico.  The instructions she received usually involved …
December 07, 2015
PRESS RELEASE

Shafter Man Pleads Guilty To Cocaine Smuggling

May 04, 2015
… Luis Montoya-Salazar, aka Rafael Salazar-(Montoya), 42, of Mexico City, and Luis Ricardo Eslava-(Eslava), 42, of Sinaloa, Mexico. As part of the plea agreement, Gil will forfeit $3.1 … containing cocaine smuggled into the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry to a location in …
May 04, 2015
PRESS RELEASE

Third Co-Conspirator Pleads Guilty To Smuggling Cocaine Seized In Bakersfield

June 29, 2015
… Luis Montoya-Salazar, aka Rafael Salazar-(Montoya), 42, of Mexico City, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with Jimmy … Shafter, and Luis Ricardo Eslava-(Eslava) 42, of Sinaloa, Mexico, to import, distribute, and possess with intent to … and Gil to smuggle the cocaine into the United States from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The cocaine was …
June 29, 2015
PRESS RELEASE

Two Sentenced For Heroin Offenses

May 31, 2011
… the conspiracy formed a chain of supply from Michoacan, Mexico to the Modesto and the Bay Area. Court records reveal … from Bay Area heroin sales was smuggled back to Michoacan, Mexico in the same hidden compartments. The investigation … into the United States and $670,000 in cash destined for Mexico as proceeds of the heroin trafficking. DEA estimates …
May 31, 2011
PRESS RELEASE

Trafficker Sentenced to 19.5 Years in Prison for Supplying Weapons and Ammunition to Sinaloa Cartel

January 13, 2025
… methamphetamine, and marijuana) from South America and Mexico, transported the drugs to multiple locations along the U.S.-Mexico border using commercial trucking companies, smuggled … drug trafficking activities back to the TCO’s leadership in Mexico. According to court records, throughout 2020, the …
January 13, 2025
PRESS RELEASE

Final Defendant Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Offenses

April 18, 2024
… Division X Account @DEAElPasoDiv Omar Arellano Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … which he knew to contain drugs from a co-conspirator in Mexico. Cerezo-Espidio was supposed to transport the drugs to Carlsbad, New Mexico, but not want to make the drive. Instead, …
April 18, 2024