Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court. (Brian A. Jackson/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
HOUSTON - A member of a Mexican cartel has been sentenced in a Houston court to federal prison for his role in bringing drugs to the US.
Los Zetas member sentenced
Eleazar Medina-Rojas was sentenced Monday to 31 years in prison for drug trafficking-related offenses.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Rojas conspired to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana.
He was also ordered to pay $26.5 million in forfeiture.
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Los Zetas, the cartel Rojas is a part of, is a drug trafficking organization composed primarily of former Mexican military officers that began as an armed militaristic wing of the Gulf Cartel, the DEA said.
The DEA Houston Division investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and July 2023 extradition of Medina-Rojas.
What they're saying:
"Eleazar Medina-Rojas used extreme violence to rise through the ranks of Los Zetas, and, as a plaza boss, ensured that the cartel maintained control over key drug trafficking routes used to direct cocaine and marijuana into the United States, devastating our communities," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. "Today’s sentence is a powerful reminder that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and bring to justice violent cartel members and hold them accountable for the death and destruction they have committed here in the United States and abroad."
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"For four years, Medina-Rojas had a tight grip on routes where he was able to smuggle more than 3,000 tons of drugs into our Southern Texas border," said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan C. Pullen of the Houston Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "Medina-Rojas controlled the routes leading to Brownsville, Laredo, and McAllen, eliminating anyone who stood in the way of his profit. DEA Houston agents' relentless work disrupted his drug trafficking routes, which eventually led to his capture, weakening the ruthless Los Zetas drug trafficking organization."
The Source: Information in this report came from the Drug Enforcement Administration.