Juan Carlos Sanchez Gaytan, Large-scale International Marijuana and Cocaine Trafficking, Texas 2008

LAREDO, Texas – A 37-year-old Mexican national, Juan Carlos Sanchez Gaytan, has been transferred to the United States from Mexico after being wanted for 15 years for his alleged involvement in a large-scale international marijuana and cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

According to the U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, Sanchez Gaytan is expected to appear in federal court in Laredo, Texas, where he will face charges of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including marijuana and cocaine.

The indictment, which was returned in February 2010, charges Sanchez Gaytan and others with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances from 2001 through 2008.

The Gulf Cartel, led by Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, was allegedly in conflict and competition with the Sinaloa Cartel for control of the United States-Mexico border in and around Laredo known as the ‘Nuevo Laredo Plaza.’

If convicted, Sanchez Gaytan faces up to life in federal prison.

Sanchez Gaytan was one of 26 people transferred to U.S. authorities on August 12, pursuant to Mexico’s National Security Law, who were fugitives from Mexico facing a range of federal and state criminal charges from around the country.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany Jensen as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Sanchez Gaytan’s alleged involvement in the conspiracy is a significant blow to the Gulf Cartel, which was allegedly led by Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, aka Z40.

Trevino Morales was transferred to U.S. custody on February 27 and is currently facing charges related to his alleged role in a continuing criminal enterprise that involved multiple murder conspiracies, conspiring to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana, and using firearms during and in relation to drug trafficking crimes.

Several others have already been convicted in the case, including Wenslaco Tovar, Ivan Caballero-Velasquez, Jaime Miguel Diaz DeLeon, and Eduardo Carreon Ibarra, who received lengthy prison sentences, including 340 months and 30, 40, and 45 years, respectively.

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