SAN ANTONIO - Juan Gerardo Trevino-Chavez aka Huevo pleaded guilty in a federal court in San Antonio today to 15 counts related to his involvement in drug trafficking throughout Mexico and the United States.

Trevino-Chavez, 42, was identified as the leader of the Cartel del Noreste drug cartel (CDN), the successor cartel to Los Zetas Cartel. Trevino-Chavez was identified as the head of CDN from September 2016 until his arrest in March 2022. He pleaded guilty Tuesday to all 11 counts in an indictment filed in the Western District of Texas, including one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; one count of conspiracy to import marijuana; one count of unlawful distribution of controlled substances; one count of conspiracy to employ a person under 18 in drug operations; one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; one count of conspiracy to import cocaine; one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; one count of conspiracy to import methamphetamine; one count of conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; one count of possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and one count of money laundering.

Trevino-Chavez additionally pleaded guilty to the four counts charged in an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Texas. In that district, he was charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of continuing criminal enterprise, one count of smuggling goods from the United States, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Trevino-Chavez is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2025 and faces up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This prosecution included significant contributions from Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs.

This case resulted from the work of multiple Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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