US Arrests 2,000 In Mexican Drug Trafficking Probe; 56 Arrested In El Paso

Law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 2,000 people in a 22-month investigation targeting Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the United States, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The probe, called Project Deliverance, focused on the transportation of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana along the Southwest border. Sixty nine people were arrested in the Western District of Texas, including 56 in El Paso.

At a news conference, Attorney General Eric Holder called Project Deliverance “just one battle” but nonetheless “a very significant blow” to the cartels.

A Few Of The El Paso-Related Incictments Ten defendants charged in an indictment in El Paso targeting a drug trafficking/money laundering network based in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Defendants include Juarez residents Jesus Rodrigo Fierro-Ramirez and Arturo Lozano-Mendez. From January 2000 until June 2010, this organization was allegedly responsible for the smuggling of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine into the United States and attempting to transport back to Mexico from Chicago, Mississippi and Kansas more than $1.5 million in drug proceeds.

Five defendants, including Reyes Lopez and Santiago Perez-Pinion, charged in a related indictment returned in El Paso with drug trafficking offenses. This group allegedly transported cocaine and hundreds of kilograms of marijuana to various cities in the United States. The indictment also seeks the criminal forfeiture of three properties in El Paso which were used to further the drug trafficking conspiracy.

Eleven members of a Ciudad Juarez/El Paso-based drug trafficking organization led by Carlos Mario Gomez-Muro (aka Cacho) indicted in El Paso for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. The indictment also charges Mexican citizen Veronica Cortez-Cruz, a high-level associate of Gomez. Since March 2009, this organization was allegedly responsible for the smuggling and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine.

Multiple indictments returned in El Paso charging 11 defendants including Victor Vargas-Montes and his drug trafficking/money laundering network based in Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. For two months beginning in July 2007, this organization was allegedly responsible for the smuggling of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. From July 2009 to February 2010, this organization was also responsible for the smuggling of more than 2,500 pounds of marijuana. During this time period, authorities also seized more than $800,000 in drug proceeds. The indictment also seeks the criminal forfeiture of two of Vargas-Montes’ homes in El Paso which he used to further his drug trafficking conspiracy.

A nine-defendant indictment in El Paso charging Victor Hugo Porras Lara and his drug distribution network based in El Paso. Since April 2009, this organization was allegedly responsible for the distribution of more than 150 kilograms of cocaine and more than 150 kilograms of marijuana from El Paso to Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta and Wichita, Kansas. A six-defendant indictment in El Paso charging Fernando Garcia-Baeza (aka El Ingeniero) and his drug distribution network based in Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. Since January 2009, this organization was allegedly responsible for the distribution of more than 20 kilograms of cocaine and approximately one pound of methamphetamine from El Paso to North Carolina and New York. The indictment also seeks the criminal forfeiture of $85,150 in drug proceeds. Eleven members of a Ciudad Juarez/El Paso-based drug trafficking organization, including Pedro Antonio Palma-Rios, indicted in El Paso for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Since March 2009, this organization was allegedly responsible for the transportation of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from El Paso to Kansas City, Memphis and Chicago. Authorities seized 14 kilograms of cocaine in Memphis in April 2009; 108 kilograms of cocaine in El Paso in August 2009; and, 15 kilograms of cocaine in Kansas City in October 2009. A four-defendant indictment returned in El Paso charging Roberto Uribe-Zubiate and his marijuana distribution network based in Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. The indictment also charges Mario Rigoberto Mireles-Zubiate, who allegedly coordinated the transportation of marijuana in the United States. During the course of this investigation, agents seized 2,200 pounds of marijuana from a tractor trailer in Sierra Blanca, Texas.

An eight-defendant indictment returned in El Paso charging Arturo Herrera-Moreno and Edilberto Herrera-Moreno and their drug distribution network based in Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. From August 2009 until March 2010, this organization was allegedly responsible for the distribution of large quantities of cocaine from Mexico to Atlanta, New York and Chicago, and returning large amounts of currency to Mexico through El Paso.

A nine-defendant indictment charging Raul Santos (aka Candelario or Pariente) and his drug distribution/money laundering network based in Ciudad Juarez. Since January 2005, this organization was allegedly responsible for the distribution of more than 100 kilograms of cocaine and more than 50 kilograms of marijuana from El Paso to Chicago, Illinois and California. Members of the organization also allegedly laundered over $1.8 million in drug proceeds during that same time period.