Leader of Cartel Del Noreste arrested following ICE HSI investigation

SAN ANTONIO – On Tuesday, Juan Gerardo Trevino-Chavez, aka Huevo, 39, of Laredo, Texas, was arrested in San Diego, Calif. on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States. According to the indictment filed in San Antonio, Trevino is the current leader of the Cartel Del Noreste drug cartel (CDN).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents assigned to Laredo and San Antonio along with U.S. Drug and Enforcement Agency (DEA) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshal Service, with assistance from the FBI and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, are investigating the case.

According to court documents, CDN is the successor cartel to the Los Zetas drug cartel for which he was a leader, drug trafficker, enforcer, weapons procurer, and plaza leader. The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, charges Trevino with 11 counts, including one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; one count of conspiracy to import marijuana; one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances; one count of conspiracy to employ a person under 18 in drug operations; one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; one count of conspiracy to import cocaine; one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine; one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; one count of possession of a machine gun in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and one count of Money Laundering.

If convicted, Trevino faces up to life in prison on each of the conspiracy to possess marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine charges; up to life in prison on each of the conspiracy to import cocaine and methamphetamine charges; up to life in prison on the unlawful distribution of controlled substance charge as well as the conspiracy to employ a person under 18 in drug operations charge; up to 10 years in prison on the conspiracy to import marijuana charge; and up to 20 years in prison on each of the firearm charges and the money laundering charge.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Special thanks to the Government of Mexico for their help in the capture and deportation of Trevino, especially the Instituto Nacional de Migración; SEDENA; Fiscalia General de la República; Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana; and the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.