Court Sentences Mexican ‘Narcotrafficker' To 20 Years In Prison
A court has sentenced a major Mexican drug trafficker with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel to 20 years in prison.
41-year-old Jorge Humberto Perez Cazares – or 'Cadete' – was a 41-year-old 'leader and organizer of a transnational drug trafficking organization' from Sinaloa, Mexico, according to a June 9 press release. He shipped 'multiple tons' of cocaine into Mexico for distribution in Los Angeles, California. Cazares 'worked with a close affiliate of the co-leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.'
'This sentence marks the downfall of a trafficker who fueled violence and addiction on both sides of the border,' said Jose Perez, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, in a release. 'The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to target the command structure of these cartels and dismantle their operations.'
American police targeted Cazares' L.A.-based distribution network, raiding three 'stash houses' – seizing $1.4 million and more than 70 kg of cocaine – in February 2014, according to the release. Close to that time, Cazares 'personally negotiated' a $23 million cocaine deal with a Guatemalan drug trafficker.
Just 'days later,' Guatemalan police arrested Cazares while he was in a truck with 514 kg of cocaine, the release said. He was known for using 'violence to protect his narcotics shipments.' Due to a 'provisional arrest warrant' from America, police arrested Cazares again in Mexico in June 2016.
'Jorge 'Cadete' Perez Cazares wasn't just moving multi-ton quantities of cocaine — he was fueling a criminal empire. Perez Cazares funneled substantial amounts of narcotics into the United States and profited off the pain of addiction,' said Robert Murphy, acting administrator of the DEA, in the release. 'The government proved he was no middleman — he was a leader. And now, justice is delivering a sentence worthy of the destruction he caused.'
Cazares was extradited to the U.S. in July 2021, according to the release. In April 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of 'conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States.'
The FBI's Washington Field Office investigated the case, while DEA Miami and DEA Guatemala 'provided critical assistance,' according to the release. Cazares' case is part of Operation Take Back America, which aims to 'repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.'
Federal officials recently charged a father and son, who operated a South Texas oil business, with supporting the violent 'Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación' (CJNG), as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Also recently, Customs and Border Protection officers seized multiple large cocaine shipments at the Texas-Mexico border.
Texas was among the states with the most Mexican cartel presence in 2024, as The Dallas Express previously reported. Cartels including Sinaloa, Los Zetas, Los Caballeros Templarios, the Beltran-Leyva Organization, and CJNG have historically operated in the DFW metroplex.
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