Notorious Drug Trafficker Tied to CJNG, Sinaloa Cartel Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy

Raul Flores Hernandez, alias "El Tio," a notorious Mexican drug trafficker who worked for both the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), pleaded guilty to charges of cocaine trafficking conspiracy on Wednesday.

According to the San Diego Herald-Tribune, the longtime drug trafficker tried to keep a low profile until 2017, when Mexican authorities arrested him after they found that he had ties to a popular Mexican soccer star and a singer.

The 70-year-old former businessman in Guadalajara, Mexico, is being tried in Washington, D.C., but he has also been indicted in San Diego by a federal grand jury.

His guilty plea reportedly came in the case in Washington, D.C. He has yet to face his San Diego indictment.

In the San Diego indictment, there may be about 12 or more other defendants, all of whom were allegedly tied to a massive international drug trafficking and money laundering operation across Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Mexico.

El Tio was designated a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement announcing that El Tio will be sentenced on June 14. He is currently facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.

2 Mexican Celebrities Involved with Notorious Drug Trafficker El Tio

El Tio's drug operation was massive, with some Mexican celebrities allegedly providing support to his drug-trafficking organization. The biggest one named is Rafael Marquez, a Mexican soccer star who captained Mexico in five World Cups.

Another big name caught up in the scandal is Mexican singer Julion Alvarez. Both celebrities were among the 21 Mexican citizens and 42 entities the U.S. government designated as supporters of El Tio's drug trafficking organization.

Because of this, Marquez and Alvarez were barred from entering the U.S., forcing Marquez to miss a match played in Los Angeles in preparation for the 2018 World Cup. On the other hand, Alvarez was forced to cancel a U.S. music tour.

But in 2021, Treasury officials removed Marquez's designation and Alvarez's designation last year.

Who Is El Tio, and What Are His Ties to Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG?

According to Infobae, El Tio has been involved in the international drug trade since the 1980s, leading a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico's Jalisco state.

His organization reportedly trafficked drugs from South America to Mexico for import to the United States. His trafficking operation prompted him to do business with the two most notorious Mexican drug cartels: CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel.

El Tio first started working with El Chapo's organization, and, in recent times, he has also worked with its rival Jalisco cartel.

The Mexican government had been investigating him for over 11 years and found that he has ties with not just the two biggest Mexican drug cartels but other smaller drug organizations as well.

El Tio reportedly pleaded guilty to coordinating cocaine shipments to Mexico from Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru by acting as an intermediary between drug trafficking groups in Mexico and the South American countries.

He also confessed to personally investing in "several loads of cocaine" shipped from Bolivia and Peru to Mexico.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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