Former Los Zetas Cartel Leader 'El Hummer' Sentenced To Decades In Prison For Drug Trafficking

Jaime Gonzalez Duran, a leader of the Los Zetas cartel, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the U.S. for drug trafficking.

Known as "El Hummer," the man also faces the seizure of almost $800 million in properties, bank accounts and other assets, Infobae reported

Duran in February pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce and distribute marijuana and cocaine with the knowledge that the substances would be entered illegally into the U.S.

Documents show that "El Hummer" was directly responsible for the trafficking of some 450 kilos of cocaine and 90,000 kilos of Marijuana, which were smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.

The man has also been linked to acts of violence against rival cartels, as well as the supervision and transportation of weapons and explosives.

"Gonzalez Duran was an original member of Los Zetas, a drug-trafficking organization comprised by former Mexican military members that started out as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel. The State Department designated Los Zetas, now known as the Cartel del Noreste, as a foreign terrorist organization on February 20, 2025," the document added.

In May, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on two senior members of the Cartel del Noroeste.

Those targeted were Ricardo "El Ricky" González Sauceda and Miguel Ángel "Miguelón" de Anda Ledezma. They are high-ranking members of the cartel, which operates in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León. The organization is known for its involvement in drug, human and arms trafficking, money laundering and oil theft.

According to the Treasury Department, "Miguelón" oversees the procurement of firearms and ammunition for the cartel, along with payments to facilitators and straw purchasers in the United States. He is also accused of coordinating weapons deliveries to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Authorities said González, on his end, led the cartel's armed wing, known as "Los Chukys," and served as CDN's second-in-command until his arrest by Mexican authorities in February 2025. He is accused of using trafficked weapons in attacks on Mexican police and military forces and has also been linked to drug trafficking operations.