Jorge Costilla-Sanchez, Drug Conspiracy and Assaults, Texas 2012

Jorge Costilla-Sanchez, a former leader of the Gulf Cartel, has been convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, as well as two counts of assault on a federal officer.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jorge Costilla-Sanchez, 46, a former leader of the Gulf Cartel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, as well as two counts of assault on a federal officer. The guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

Costilla-Sanchez was the head of the Gulf Cartel from some years following the arrest of Osiel Cardenas in 2003 and before his own arrest in September 2012. The CDG has been the lead transnational narcotics trafficking and money laundering organization in Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico, since the 1990s.

During his association with the CDG, Costilla-Sanchez was responsible for making strategic decisions and managing various factions within the cartel. From 1998-2012, he helped provide leadership to the CDG, resulting in the importation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana into the United States.

The CDG narcotics were smuggled into the country at the Ports of Entry in Hidalgo and Cameron County, along the Rio Grande River, and through lanchas arriving along the National Seashore at Padre Island. Once imported, the narcotics were transported to various cities throughout the United States, with profits returned to the CDG in Mexico.

The money laundering efforts involved bulk cash currency smuggling to Northern Mexico, the use of funnel accounts to wire money into banking accounts for eventual repatriation to the CDG, and the purchase of assets to disguise the illicit nature of these drug proceeds.

Costilla-Sanchez also acknowledged his participation in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute kilogram amounts of cocaine and marijuana. He further admitted his involvement in the assault of two federal officers, including an incident in November 1999 where he was with Cardenas when two U.S. federal agents were stopped by CDG members in broad daylight on a heavily traveled street in Matamoros.

Costilla-Sanchez's sentencing has been set for January 4, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle. At that time, he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Cameron County Sheriff's Office, and Brownsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jody Young, Toni Trevino, and Karen Betancourt are prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/former-gulf-cartel-leader-convicted-drug-conspiracy-and-assaults-federal-officers