PRESS RELEASE

U.S. Attorney's Office Secures Guilty Pleas in Albuquerque Fentanyl Case

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case. # # # Drug Trafficking Fake …
PRESS RELEASE

Cooperation Between United States and Mexican Law Enforcement Leads to Significant Actions Against Transnational Drug Trafficking Organization

… organization operating in Nogales, Sonora, along the U.S.-Mexico border. After extensive bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, Fiscalía General …
PRESS RELEASE

Sheriff’s Deputies Allegedly Tipped Off DEA Target

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … the execution of a state search warrant in Los Ranchos, New Mexico, in July 2021. After finding methamphetamine inside …
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican National Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Role in Cocaine Conspiracy

… – Aaron Leopoldo Aguirre-Gutierrez, 50, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on Jan. 20, 2026, by U.S. District …
PRESS RELEASE

Year in Review: DEA Innovates to Fight Fentanyl

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … DEA El Paso Field Division, which covers West Texas and New Mexico, seized 1.5 million fentanyl pills and nearly 165 …
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Houston-Based DTO Pleads Guilty to Leading Large-Scale Meth Distribution and Importation Conspiracy

… large numbers of firearms from the United States into Mexico.  The organization then traded the firearms for … of kilograms of crystal and liquid methamphetamine from Mexico into Texas and further distributed it throughout the … or “CDH,” because it was based in Houston and had ties to Mexico-based drug trafficking cartels.  CDH was also an …
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican National Sentenced for Fentanyl Trafficking

… the transportation of drug shipments with traffickers in Mexico. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the …
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican National Admits Laundering $1.5 million on behalf of Cartel

… States, Canada, Europe and Australia and move them back to Mexico.  From 2016 to 2019, Valadez recruited others in … in possession of drug proceeds that needed to be moved to Mexico. Valadez then coordinated the transfer of proceeds back to Mexico through financial institutions.  Valadez and …
PRESS RELEASE

Accused Drug Cartel Broker, 28 Others Indicted in St. Louis

… of defendants in multiple states in just a few hours.” “Mexico-based drug cartels should never be underestimated for … alleges that since at least 2017, Rosas-Vargas was a Mexico-based broker who obtained fentanyl, meth and cocaine … and his co-conspirators wired some drug proceeds back to Mexico and used couriers to transport bulk shipments of …
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Organization with Ties to Mexican Cartel Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

… fentanyl distribution in Massachusetts on behalf of Mexico-based suppliers BOSTON – A coordinator for a … conspiracy, operating on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, has been sentenced in federal court in Boston. … on Dec. 11, 2023. “The flow of deadly fentanyl from Mexico to Massachusetts is directly tied to the devastation …
PRESS RELEASE

Leader of Sophisticated Sinaloa Cartel Money Laundering Organization Sentenced to 120 Months

… companies and transferred the monies to bank accounts in Mexico. To demonstrate the drug money connection, in … of Ramirez’s indicted co-defendants remain fugitives in Mexico, including the alleged former Mexico-based leader of the organization, Enrique Esparragoza …
PRESS RELEASE

Communities Nationwide Turn In Nearly 630,000 Pounds of Unneeded Medications on DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … 1,657 pounds in West Texas and 3,393 pounds in New Mexico . This effort to empty medicine cabinets helps to …
PRESS RELEASE

Mexican Citizen Extradited to United States on Narcotics Conspiracy Charge

… - (732) 431-7160 x2242 NEWARK, N.J. – A citizen of Mexico who was extradited to the United States on narcotics … to distribute heroin. Flores-Fernandez was arrested in Mexico at the request of the United States on Sept. 24, … was detained. Flores-Fernandez was part of a Guadalajara, Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that distributed …
PRESS RELEASE

Albuquerque Man Charged in a Second Superseding Indictment for Drug and Firearms Offenses

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that a federal grand jury returned a …
PRESS RELEASE

Illegal Alien Sentenced to more than Three Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl

… Claudia Montano Gonzalez, 43, a native and citizen of Mexico, to 39 months in prison. In October 2024, Gonzalez … David Angel Alejandres, facilitated the transaction from Mexico, but Gonzalez delivered the fentanyl. After obtaining …
PRESS RELEASE

Five Defendants Charged Following Investigations by the Nashville Homeland Security Task Force

… in Colorado, Tennessee, New York, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, Georgia, and elsewhere. Members of TdA …
STORY

DEA El Paso and Discovery Education Train Albuquerque Schools on DEA Award-Winning Curriculum

April 04, 2024
… April 04, 2024 Albuquerque Public Schools has become a New Mexico leader in substance misuse prevention education by … for APS high school and middle school students in New Mexico. The next goal is to implement Operation Prevention … Division. “I challenge all other school districts in New Mexico and West Texas, to follow APS’s example. In fact, all …
April 04, 2024
PRESS RELEASE

Two More Defendants Arrested During 2023 Joint Enforcement Operation in Carlsbad Plead Guilty to Federal Drug Offenses

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Kassandra Lee Perales and Jared …
Rafael Galindo-Gallegos
FUGITIVE

Rafael Galindo-Gallegos Jr

Wanted for the following alleged federal violations: Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin and Conspiracy to Launder Money
Rafael Galindo-Gallegos
FUGITIVE

Rafael Galindo-Gallegos

Wanted for the following alleged federal violations: Wanted for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Heroin and Conspiracy to Launder Money
PRESS RELEASE

Albuquerque Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Drug Trafficking Offenses

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Rafael Columbie was sentenced …
PRESS RELEASE

Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises at Motel in Albuquerque

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Pragneshkumar Patel and …
PRESS RELEASE

Son of Sinaloa Cartel Member Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking

… manager for a drug trafficking organization out of Mexico that was responsible for distributing drugs in … of the Tri-Cities area, but now resides in Sinaloa, Mexico where he runs his drug trafficking organization.  … he is a U.S. Citizen and could travel freely to and from Mexico.  Judge Rice found that Zazueta is a leader and …
PRESS RELEASE

Z-43 Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Tons of Cocaine into United States

… were a Mexican-based drug cartel in control of much of the Mexico/U.S. border to include the Texas corridor.  The … Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia into the Republic of Mexico and then into the United States. The investigation … of cocaine from Colombia to Guatemala, Guatemala to Mexico and then from Mexico into the United States for …
PRESS RELEASE

DEA Operation Last Mile Tracks Down Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartel Associates Operating within the United States

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … doses of fentanyl removed from communities across New Mexico and 17 counties of West Texas. A total of 71 cases …
PRESS RELEASE

Accused Major Trafficker Indicted in Kidnappings and Assaults Linked to an Alleged Drug-Related Dispute

… New York City After Year and a Half Spent as a Fugitive in Mexico NEW YORK CITY - An indictment filed in Manhattan … He was arrested on a federal warrant in Jalisco, Mexico in September of 2023, and deported after more than a … in February of 2022, Huertas fled New York to Mexico, where he was apprehended more than a year and a half …
PRESS RELEASE

Juárez Cartel Leader Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking

… Social Accounts X Robert “Eric” Castañeda Domestic New Mexico, El Paso, Alpine, and Midland Texas Additional … 915-479-2540 Michelle.Rincon@dea.gov Division Contacts New Mexico Albuquerque - (505) 452-4500 Las Cruces - (575) … Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Luis Carlos Vásquez-Barragán, 51, of …
PRESS RELEASE

Drug Trafficking Mom Imprisoned for Smuggling Meth Across Border

… hearing, the court heard that Rios imported narcotics from Mexico on behalf of Dallas drug traffickers. In handing down … a drug deal.  In October 2021, Rios attempted entry from Mexico into the United States via the Hidalgo Port of Entry. … with several friends from Dallas to a hotel in Reynosa, Mexico. Rios then knowingly provided her vehicle to Mexican …
PRESS RELEASE

Former Head of Gulf Cartel Receives Life Sentence for Importing Kilos of Drugs

… role in conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana from Mexico into the United States, announced Drug Enforcement … was a municipal police officer in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.   During his association with the Gulf Cartel, … controlled numerous plazas along the United States and Mexico border including Matamoros, Rio Bravo, Reynosa, …
PRESS RELEASE

Former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Attempting to Distribute Methamphetamine and Receiving Bribes

… to smuggle methamphetamine and people across the U.S.-Mexico border while on duty, was sentenced in federal court … unauthorized immigrants to enter the United States from Mexico. Hernandez also agreed to move methamphetamine and … In his plea agreement, Hernandez acknowledged he took Mexico-based smugglers on a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border, …