Mexican national sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy as a result of Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

DALLAS - United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced that a Mexican citizen was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy involving nearly four kilograms of high-purity methamphetamine.

Luis Manuel Abarca-Torres, a.k.a. "Güero Menso," pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on July 29, 2025. Judge Brantley Starr imposed the decades long sentence on Sept. 30.

"Four kilograms of nearly pure methamphetamine poised for distribution is not just a drug transaction, it's a direct threat to every family in North Texas," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. "This defendant helped funnel extraordinarily dangerous narcotics into our community, and thanks to the relentless work of our Homeland Security Task Force that pipeline is now shut down. This 40-year sentence sends a clear message: traffickers who target North Texas will face severe consequences."

"This sentence sends a message to drug traffickers who poison our communities with dangerous drugs and line the pockets of criminal organizations," said Joseph B. Tucker, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division. "This sentence of 480 months will hold Mr. Torres accountable for the poison that found its way into our neighborhoods by his hand. No amount of drugs is acceptable in our neighborhoods, and those that are responsible for the distribution of poison in the form of drugs in our communities will face justice sooner or later. The DEA will never cease its efforts to rid these drugs from the streets of North Texas."

Courtroom filings reveal that between June 21, 2022, and June 30, 2022, Torres arranged to supply an undercover officer four kilograms of methamphetamine in exchange for $10,000 U.S. Dollars. During this time frame, Torres told the undercover officer that a Dallas based distributor would contact the undercover officer and tell the undercover officer that they were calling on Torres' behalf by identifying Torres as "Guero."

Co-defendant Adriana Melendez Calvillo met the undercover officer at a McDonald's located at 7305 Airport Freeway, in Richland Hills, Texas and delivered 3.953 kilograms of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. The methamphetamine had a purity of 97%. Calvillo was sentenced on Nov. 20, 2024, to 480 months confinement on drug charges and 240 months confinement on money laundering charges.

Courtroom filings related to co-defendant Ignacio Manzo Cardenas, who was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2025, to a term of 440 months confinement on drug charges and 240 months confinement on money laundering charges, reveal that on Oct. 25, 2022, agents conducted a search at an address located in Reno, Texas. During the search agents located over 24 kilograms of crystalized methamphetamine. The methamphetamine had a purity of 99%. The search also revealed evidence of a methamphetamine conversion lab with different amounts of methamphetamine being located in liquid and crystalized form.

The search also revealed multiple drug ledgers that showed hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine had been received and disbursed from the location. Those same ledgers also contained evidence regarding money deliveries.

Courtroom testimony from Melendez's sentencing hearing revealed shipments of drugs and proceeds in this case are linked to the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. On Feb. 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated the CJNG, which has contacts across the Americas, Australia, China, and Southeast Asia, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The CJNG has previously attacked the Mexican military and police with military grade weaponry, the use of drones to drop explosives on Mexican law enforcement and assassinations or attempted assassinations of Mexican officials.

Abarca-Torres is the 12th defendant sentenced in this investigation that involved a total of 13 defendants in two separate cases. All told, Abarca-Torres was held accountable for 396,769 kilograms (calculated as converted drug weight) for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin. One defendant remains unapprehended.

The following defendants have been previously sentenced in this case:

• Adriana Melendez Calvillo was sentenced to a term of 480 months imprisonment for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and 240 months imprisonment on money laundering
• Ignacio Manzo Cardenas was sentenced to a term of 440 months confinement for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and 240 months confinement for laundering of monetary instruments with individuals
• Omar Gilliam was sentenced to a term of 270 months confinement for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• David Garcia was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine
• Fatima Garcia was sentenced to a term of 108 months imprisonment for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and money laundering charges
• Juan Pablo Guerra was sentenced to a term of 62 months imprisonment for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin
• Gerardo Campos Garcia was sentenced to a term of 27 months imprisonment for conspiring to launder monetary instruments; and
• Hilario Zamago was sentenced to a probation term of one year for using a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony.

As part of Torres' agreement to plead guilty in this case, the Government agreed to dismiss charges in case number 3:23-CR-177-N. In that case the following sentences have been pronounced:

• Oscar Alonso Dominguez Rodriguez was sentenced to 240-months confinement for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute
• Guadalupe Ramirez was sentenced to 97-months confinement for Laundering Monetary Instruments
• Franklin Jose Cruiz Arguijo was sentenced to 70-months confinement for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Dallas Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Texas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal, Joseph T. Lo Galbo and Abby Policastro prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, and United States Secret Service in partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety, City of Dallas Police Department, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office and other local law enforcement entities.

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