{"id":59118,"date":"2025-06-20T09:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59118"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:29:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:29:35","slug":"high-ranking-member-of-violent-mexican-drug-cartel-sentenced-to-35-years-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=59118","title":{"rendered":"High-Ranking Member of Violent Mexican Drug Cartel Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A violent member of the Los Zetas drug cartel\u2014now designated a foreign terrorist organization\u2014was sentenced Friday to 35 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $792 million for trafficking massive quantities of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S., according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaime Gonzalez-Duran, 49, known as “Hummer,” was a founding member of Los Zetas, a group formed by ex-Mexican military officers as the enforcement arm of the Gulf Cartel. He later became a regional commander in key Mexican border cities, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gonzalez-Duran was responsible for smuggling over 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana, orchestrating violent attacks on rival cartels, and bribing officials to protect drug shipments. He maintained a weapons warehouse in Reynosa, where authorities seized 540 rifles, 165 grenades, half a million rounds of ammunition, and TNT. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007, he was caught on a wiretap arranging the movement of $1.5 million in drug proceeds from Texas to Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Feb. 28, Gonzalez-Duran pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine and marijuana for unlawful importation into the United States from Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n