ST. PAUL, Minn. – In a significant blow to organized crime, a Mexican national has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that distributed drugs throughout Minnesota and surrounding regions.
Charly Cruz-Jimenez, 40, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Eric C. Tostrud on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, Cruz-Jimenez organized and led a drug trafficking organization that distributed mass amounts of methamphetamine in Minnesota, while remaining safely outside of the jurisdiction of the United States in Matamoros, Mexico.
Beginning in at least October 2021, Cruz-Jimenez used a large network of “runners” inside the United States to store the drugs, make deliveries to his customers, and funnel money back to Mexico. Investigators learned that the defendant had sold approximately 32-34 pounds of methamphetamine to one of his customers, Nicholas Horak, between October 2021 and March 2022.
Officers obtained Cruz-Jimenez’s phone number from Horak’s phone and used his number to introduce an undercover (UC) police officer to him. Over the course of the next 16 months, the UC had repeated contact with Cruz-Jimenez and ordered drugs from him on 15 different occasions.
In his communications with the UC, Cruz-Jimenez admitted that he was a member of the Sureños, a national prison gang with connections to organized crime in Mexico. He also admitted to being a member of the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo or CDG), a major drug trafficking cartel in Mexico.
Cruz-Jimenez sent the UC photographs of himself fighting a war over territory with a rival cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación or CJNG). Included among the photographs was a photo of the defendant posing with a rifle in front of a bound and blindfolded captured member of the rival cartel.
In August 2023, Cruz-Jimenez illegally reentered the United States by crossing the Rio Grande into Texas. From Texas, the defendant continued to discuss methamphetamine deals with the UC and informed them that they would need to increase the quantity of purchases to multiple pounds in order to keep working together.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Ramsey County Violent Crime Enforcement Team (VCET), the Maplewood Police Department, the Mounds View Police Department, the New Brighton Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, the Saint Paul Police Department, and the White Bear Lake Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan H. Nelson and Bradley M. Endicott are prosecuting the case.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant/Respondent: Charly Cruz-Jimenez
Criminal Charges: One count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine
City and State: St. Paul, Minnesota
Exact Date: August 2023 (illegal reentry) and August 2023 (sentencing)
Sentence or Outcome: 300 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release
Dollar Amounts: None
Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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