Carlos Montemayor ‘The Director’ Gets 34 Years for Cartel Haul

Carlos Montemayor, a/k/a The Director, a/k/a Licenciado, a/k/a Fox, 47, of Tamaulipas, Mexico, is headed to federal prison for 34 years and three months after admitting his role as the U.S. transportation chief for one of the most violent drug cartels in history. Montemayor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and conspiracy to launder money—crimes that fueled a transnational machine responsible for flooding American cities with hundreds of kilos of cocaine weekly.

Montemayor built a legitimate trucking empire from scratch in Laredo, Texas, starting in 1992, moving goods across the U.S.-Mexico border with precision. But by 2002, greed twisted his ambition. He partnered with Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie—the highest-ranking American-born enforcer in the Sinaloa and Beltran-Leyva cartels—turning his fleet into a criminal conveyor belt. Using his logistics network, Montemayor hauled up to 300 kilograms of cocaine per week to stash houses in Atlanta, Memphis, and beyond, while smuggling millions in drug cash back to Mexico in loads never under $1 million.

U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak laid it bare: ‘Montemayor came to the United States from Mexico and used his skills, hard work, and the opportunities afforded in this country to build a successful trucking company from the ground up. However, he was ultimately driven by greed.’ That success became a front for systematic, high-volume trafficking that enriched cartels and endangered communities across the South and Midwest.

The DEA cracked the operation through relentless surveillance, wiretapping phones at an Atlanta distribution hub. Agents methodically dismantled the network, intercepting Montemayor’s own calls as he directed operations from Mexico with military precision. His lieutenants were rounded up, shipments seized—hundreds of kilos of cocaine, millions in cash—and the chain led straight to Montemayor and, ultimately, to Valdez. Both were arrested in Mexico in 2010 and extradited to the U.S. in 2015 to face justice.

Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy of the DEA Atlanta office called the sentencing ‘a victory for the citizens of this country.’ ‘This defendant’s decision to hide behind the veil of his once legitimate trucking company led to a twist of fate driven by greed,’ Murphy said. ‘Because of the united front between DEA, the United States Attorney’s Office, its federal, state, local, and foreign partners, the citizens of this country can feel safer.’

On November 14, 2018, Montemayor pleaded guilty. On sentencing, U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ordered 34 years and three months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. His partner, Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a La Barbie, of Laredo, Texas, is already serving 49 years and one month, with a $192,000,000 forfeiture order—proof that even the cartel’s top lieutenants aren’t untouchable.