Forty-One Individuals Charged in Massive Poly-Drug
Indictment Linked to Cartel
Office of Public Affairs
A total of 23 people were taken into custody following the
return of a 50-count indictment alleging cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and meth trafficking
and related crimes in the
The indictment alleges they all operated under the overall
control of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
From
“Countless American lives have been lost because of the
Jalisco and Sinaloa Cartels,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Over
the past three years, the Justice Department has zeroed in on these cartels,
and with these arrests of dozens of Jalisco Cartel associates, we are taking
yet another step in our fight to dismantle these deadly organizations.”
“The fentanyl threat to
“DEA’s number one operational priority is to save lives by
defeating the Mexican drug cartels responsible for the deadliest drug threat
our country has ever faced. The Jalisco Cartel’s drugs and violence threaten
the health and safety of Americans everywhere,” said Administrator Anne Milgram
of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “The DEA will continue to target
and defeat the cartels’
“I want to commend our U.S. Marshal Service personnel and
partners for their roles in this vital operation to dismantle a network that
supplied dangerous drugs to communities in south Texas on behalf of the Jalisco
New Generation Cartel,” said U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Director Ronald L.
Davis. “This is just one example of the significant work we can accomplish
together to confront one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in
“CJNG is known as one of the most powerful and dangerous
criminal organizations in Mexico, characterized by a business model that
involves extreme violence and trafficking in the most deadly of substances —
cocaine, heroin, meth, and fentanyl,” said
During the law enforcement operation that spanned multiple
jurisdictions to include the Houston, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Brownsville
and McAllen areas in Texas as well as Louisiana, Colorado, Washington, and
California, authorities arrested a total of 20 people. They join three
individuals who were previously in custody. Two are now deceased.
Zamudio-Mendoza, who is believed to be in Mexico, and 15 others are still at
large, and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests.
The indictment, returned
All are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and meth and face up to life in prison.
Each is also charged in varying counts to include conspiracy to launder
monetary instruments, laundering of monetary instruments, possession with
intent to distribute meth, heroin, fentanyl, and/or cocaine.
Some of the defendants have already made their appearances
in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison. Others are set for
April 2 at
DEA and USMS investigated the case, with
assistance from the Houston Police Department, Galveston Police Department, and
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant
The arrests are the culmination of a 63-month Organized
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation (OCDETF) dubbed Operation
Rainmaker that began in 2019. OCDETF identifies,
disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten
the
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of
law.
Updated