Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
Antonio Oseguera Cervantes, 67, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for unlawful importation into the United States and to using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
According to court documents, Oseguera Cervantes trafficked cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States for Mexico-based cartels for more than two decades. From about 2002 to 2010, prosecutors said he was a member of the Milenio Cartel in Jalisco, Mexico, where he oversaw narcotics sales, protected cartel territory from rivals, supervised methamphetamine laboratories, obtained precursor chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine, and distributed cocaine and methamphetamine destined for the United States.
Court filings state that beginning around 2010, Oseguera Cervantes worked with and reported directly to his brother, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “Mencho,” whom the Justice Department identified as the co-founder and leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG. Prosecutors said Oseguera Cervantes supplied precursor chemicals to CJNG methamphetamine laboratories, distributed cocaine and methamphetamine for the cartel, collected drug proceeds, and managed money laundering activities by transferring drug proceeds from the United States to Mexico through currency exchange locations. Authorities also said he carried a pistol while collecting drug proceeds or attending meetings related to drug trafficking.
Oseguera Cervantes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine intended for importation into the United States, as well as the firearm offense connected to the conspiracy.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13. According to the Justice Department, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of two consecutive life sentences. The sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole announced the guilty plea.
The DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit in Los Angeles investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with Oseguera Cervantes’ transfer from Mexico to the United States in February 2025 under Mexico’s National Security law. The department also thanked the Government of Mexico for its assistance in securing his transfer for prosecution.
The case is being prosecuted by Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Justice Department’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit and Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel and Nicole Lockhart of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.
The Justice Department said the prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, which focuses on investigating and prosecuting criminal cartels, transnational criminal organizations, foreign gangs, and human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in the United States and abroad.
