A cartel member is facing prison for a Dallas-area “drug conspiracy.”
Luis Robert Velazquez, a 39-year-old living in Cockrell Hill, was sentenced to 11.25 years in federal prison on January 5, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
U.S. Senior District Judge David Godbey sentenced the suspect, a member of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).
Luis Robert Velazquez, 39, of Cockrell Hill, Texas, was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for distributing approximately:
🔹300 kilograms of methamphetamine,
🔹ten to twelve kilograms of heroin, and
🔹a kilogram of cocaine.He did this in a span of less than… pic.twitter.com/4nmsDSWZBM
— FBI Dallas (@FBIDallas) January 9, 2026
“This case sends a clear message: those who dump poison into our streets will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould in the release. “Prosecuting an affiliate of senior cartel leaders requires years of painstaking work, unwavering resolve, and exceptional interagency cooperation.”
Velazquez pleaded guilty in July 2025 to a “drug conspiracy,” where he trafficked narcotics into the Dallas area for CJNG.
The State Department designated CJNG a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.
The group is “one of the most powerful and violent cartels in Mexico,” responsible for trafficking fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into the United States, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. It split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010 and is now its main competitor.
FBI-Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said in the release that Velazquez’s arrest will help with “significantly reducing the flow of narcotics into our neighborhoods.”
From November 2024 to April 2025, Velazquez admitted to receiving shipments of roughly 300 kilograms of methamphetamine, 10 to 12 kilograms of heroin, and a kilogram of cocaine from CJNG associates in Mexico, according to the release.
Velazquez then turned and distributed the drugs to cartel customers in the Dallas area, at the direction of his CJNG superiors in Mexico. He laundered American currency from the transactions, then sent it back to the cartel.
“The sentence of Mr. Velazquez reflects our continued focus on dismantling foreign terrorist organizations that traffic deadly drugs into our communities,” said DEA-Dallas Special Agent in Charge Joseph Tucker in the release. “DEA and our partners will continue targeting violent cartels and their criminal associates, in order to save American lives.”
The Homeland Security Task Force – a government-wide partnership to counter foreign organized crime groups – investigated this case, according to the release. The group’s Dallas branch includes members of the FBI, DEA, and ICE-HSI. Local members also include the Dallas Police Department, Coppell Police Department, and Grand Prairie Police Department.
The federal government sanctioned CJNG in August 2025 for targeting elderly Americans with a $300 million timeshare fraud in Puerto Vallarta, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Earlier that summer, federal officials charged a father and son with using their South Texas oil operation to funnel more than $47 million to the cartel.
