A Mexican national and senior member of the Los Zetas cartel was sentenced to over 31 years in federal prison for conspiring to manufacture and distribute massive amounts of cocaine and marijuana. He was also required to forfeit $26.5 million.
Eleazar Medina-Rojas, 53, also known as El Chelelo, of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, was a longtime Los Zetas leader who utilized brutality to dominate important trafficking routes into the United States, including corridors to Brownsville, Laredo, and McAllen. According to prosecution documents, Medina-Rojas personally helped bring more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana into the country.
Between 2006 and 2007, Medina-Rojas worked as a “plaza boss” in Monterrey, Mexico, supervising cartel members in drug trafficking operations and violent enforcement measures. During his tenure, authorities stated he controlled smuggling networks that transported over 3,000 tons of cocaine across the Southern Texas border.
Medina-Rojas was extradited from Mexico to the United States in July 2023, following a joint operation by US and Mexican officials. The DEA Houston Division oversaw the investigation, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
The case was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide campaign to combat cartels and multinational criminal organizations.
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