Mexican National Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Role in Drug Conspiracy

TUCSON, Ariz. - Daniel Roberto Auz-Vasquez, 28, of Imuris, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on December 5, 2025, by Chief United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Auz-Vasquez was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.

As part of this conspiracy, on July 1, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, Auz-Vasquez and his co-conspirators possessed approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine, which they intended to deliver to another individual that evening.

This investigation 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 United States 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. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. This HSTF Tucson led investigation comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) with the prosecution being led by Assistant United States Attorney David Petermann of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona-Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR24-5415-JGZ-1
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-174_Auz-Vasquez

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