Ruben Salazar Vasquez, Cocaine Distribution, Texas 2022

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Table of Contents

Ruben Salazar Vasquez Sentenced to 15+ Years for Cocaine Trafficking

A devastating blow to the Gulf Cartel has been dealt with the sentencing of Ruben Salazar Vasquez, 51, to 188 months in federal prison for his role in a massive cocaine trafficking operation.

According to prosecutors, Vasquez was a member of the notorious Gulf Cartel, responsible for distributing cocaine to Tennessee, Illinois, and Texas. The sentencing comes after Vasquez pleaded guilty in August 2022 to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On April 22, 2021, Vasquez delivered cocaine to a known drug dealer in Grand Prairie, Texas, before fleeing the scene. Law enforcement later discovered 3,862 grams of cocaine in a vehicle that departed the residence and 1,937 grams of cocaine stashed inside a grill on the premises.

Vasquez was ordered to forfeit $28,481 and four firearms as part of his sentence. His associates, Jorge Adalberto Cavazos and Darwin Lamont Conwright, were also charged and pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Cavazos was sentenced to 108 months in prison, while Conwright is set to be sentenced later this month.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Division, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Garland Police Department, IRS – Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal is prosecuting the case.

The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.