Man With Ties to Jalisco Cartel Arrested For Drug Trafficking In Massachusetts
Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, are displayed before a press conference regarding a major drug bust, at the office of the New York Attorney General, September 23, 2016 in New York City. New York State Attorney General Eric Scheiderman's office announced Friday that authorities in New York state have made a record drug bust, seizing 33 kilograms of heroin and 2 kilograms of fentanyl. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A man believed to have close ties with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was arrested at his home in Holyoke on Thursday by authorities for fentanyl trafficking.

Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents found a large quantity of fentanyl, several firearms, such as large-caliber handguns, and an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a bullet-proof vest, packaging materials, cellphones, and a money counter at his residence in Holyoke at Boston, Massachusetts.

The suspect has been identified as Josue Rivera Rodriguez, 44, also known as "Bori," the Mass Live reported.

Rodriguez was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and two counts of distribution of 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

Court records showed that arresting agents were able to record a meeting where Rodriguez delivered $35,000 to a cooperating witness with a code designed to make sure that the money was forwarded to the Jalisco cartel.

Subsequently, the Massachusetts man was recorded distributing over 750 grams of fentanyl to the cooperating witness on three occasions in 2020 and 2021, according to a WWLP report.

Charges of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl could result in 10 years up to life in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The distribution of 40 grams of fentanyl could result in five to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of Mendell's Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is in charge of prosecuting the case.

Jalisco Cartel Members

Meanwhile, the U.S. and Mexico recently imposed sanctions on Jalisco cartel members in relation to two high-profile murders.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions against Carlos Rivera Varela and Francis Gudiño Haro.

Varela and Haro were believed to help orchestrate killings in the coastal region of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state.

Authorities believed that the Jalisco cartel operates by a hierarchical structure, unlike other factions such as the Sinaloa cartel that tend to have a relatively horizontal structure.

According to analysts, inside the Jalisco cartel, strategic decisions were believed to be made by top leadership and passed down the chain of command.

"The CJNG structure is completely vertical. Nemesio Oseguera, alias 'El Mencho,' is the brain behind everything," David Saucedo, a Mexico-based journalist and security analyst, said in an InSight Crime report.

Experts believe that the Jalisco cartel's violence has taken a toll on the state, adding that their rampant violence poses a threat to Mexico's government.

Jalisco cartel's gunmen had introduced one of the most brazen assaults in decades after they attempt to assassinate Mexico City's security chief last June, The Guardian reported.

Last month, the body of Carlos "El Cholo" Enrique Sanchez, a former high-ranking member of the Jalisco cartel, was dumped on a park bench in Tlaquepaque, which is a tourist town near Guadalajara.

Authorities at the north and south of the U.S. border are now considering the group a national security threat, according to Eduarda Guerrero, a security specialist.

Guerrero noted that the Jalisco cartel has huge amounts of money, weapons, military-style paramilitary groups, and vehicles.

"They represent a very severe challenge to the (Mexican) government - above all in small and mid-sized cities where a detachment of 50 cartel operatives can obviously defeat any local police force," Guerrero said in the report.

According to officials, the Jalisco cartel began in July 2010, when troops killed Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, the gangster known to have started Mexico's methamphetamine trade in Guadalajara.

Earlier this month, clashes between the Jalisco cartel and Carteles Unidos in the municipality of Aguililla resulted in the deaths of 27 Carteles Unidos' members. Residents of the municipality said that law enforcement did not meddle at all when the shootout happened.

WATCH: Holyoke Man Allegedly With the CJNG Drug Cartel Was Arrested For Fentanyl Conspiracy - From WWLP-22News