Jorge Albeiro Silva-Salazar, Cocaine Trafficking, Texas 2017

Jorge Albeiro Silva-Salazar, a Panamanian national, pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking in East Texas

Sherman, Texas – Jorge Albeiro Silva-Salazar, a 53-year-old Panamanian national, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking violations during his federal trial in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

According to court information, Silva-Salazar, also known as Don Guillermo, is a Panamanian-based cocaine broker who utilized couriers to transport cocaine shipments from Colombia into Panama for further distribution to the United States. Various modes of transportation, including airplanes, go-fast boats, semi-tractor trailer trucks, and passenger vehicles, were used to transport the cocaine shipments.

Silva-Salazar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for distribution into the United States and manufacturing and distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine for distribution into the United States on April 26, 2022.

“The coordination between the Eastern District of Texas and Republic of Panama is a premier example of law enforcement not only crossing borders, but continents, to keep our communities safer,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.

“While thousands of miles away, the cocaine trafficking activity Mr. Silva-Salazar affected the lives of many people living in our East Texas neighborhoods,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Silva-Salazar with federal drug trafficking violations on August 9, 2017. He faces up to life in federal prison, with a sentencing hearing scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Panama National Police and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Bloss.

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