The State Department announced Monday that a former high-ranking member of the Los Zetas cartel has been sentenced to more than 31 years in federal prison for his role as a plaza boss for the cartel in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León. The news comes in the wake of recent U.S. efforts to dismantle Mexican drug cartels.
On Sept. 8, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed the sentencing of Eleazar Medina Rojas, known as "El Chelelo." In addition to the prison term, Medina Rojas was ordered to forfeit $26.5 million.
"Eleazar Medina Rojas used extreme violence to rise through the ranks of Los Zetas and, as a plaza boss, ensured that the cartel maintained control over key drug trafficking routes used to smuggle cocaine and marijuana into the United States, devastating our communities," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division in a statement.
According to the DOJ, Medina Rojas directed enforcement operations and protected drug trafficking corridors along the Texas border. Jonathan C. Pullen, special agent in charge of the DEA's Houston Field Division, said El Chelelo was responsible for smuggling more than 3,000 tons of drugs into southern Texas over a span of four years.
Pullen also said Medina Rojas maintained control over trafficking routes into Brownsville, Laredo and McAllen, using violence to eliminate anyone who stood in his way.
Mexican news outlet Milenio reported that Medina Rojas was a member of Los Zetas from 2000 to 2008 and led the cartel's operations in Monterrey between 2006 and 2007. During that time, he held several key roles within the organization and commanded dozens of gunmen and criminal operatives.
U.S. authorities described Medina Rojas as a violent figure who regularly took part in attacks against rival drug groups to assert control over trafficking routes. In one case detailed by the Justice Department, he was allegedly responsible for smuggling more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana into the United States.
"Today's sentence is a powerful reminder that the Justice Department will aggressively pursue and bring to justice violent cartel members and hold them accountable for the death and destruction they have caused here in the United States and abroad," Galeotti said.
Medina Rojas had been in U.S. custody since his extradition from Mexico in July 2023. He pleaded guilty in March after negotiating his surrender with federal prosecutors.
Milenio also noted that Medina Rojas' sentencing came just minutes after Miguel Ángel and Omar Treviño Morales — former leaders of Los Zetas — pleaded not guilty to several drug trafficking charges following their extradition from Mexico in February.
Los Zetas Cartel
Los Zetas originated as an elite unit of military deserters from the Mexican army who became an armed wing for the Gulf Cartel. They later split off to form their organization and rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Known for their brutal tactics, including kidnapping, extortion, and torture, Los Zetas became one of Mexico's most feared and violent criminal groups.
As InSight Crime highlights, Los Zetas were known for their use of state-of-the-art weapons and communications technology. At one point, the DEA considered them to be the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and violent enforcement group in Mexico.
The cartel was originally led by Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, who recruited the Treviño Morales brothers in 2003, and by 2011, they had become part of his inner circle. Following Lazcano's death in 2012, the brothers assumed leadership of the organization.
Although both were captured years ago (Miguel Ángel in 2013 and Omar in 2015) U.S. prosecutors argue the brothers continued to exert control over the cartel from behind bars until their extradition in February.
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