Chinese National Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Material Support to Terrorism

Wenshen Xu, 52, a Honduras-based Chinese national extradited from Guatemala, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $22 million money judgement for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money derived from drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

"This defendant conspired to help international drug trafficking organizations bring illegal drugs into the United States and tens of millions of dollars in dirty money out of the United States," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Every case the Justice Department prosecutes as part of the Homeland Security Task Force to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and identify money launderers that prop up designated terrorist organizations makes America safer. Alongside DEA and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to put those who fuel the international drug trade and exploit the United States behind bars."

"We are determined to stop the transnational criminal organizations that flood our streets with drugs and stem the tide of money that fuels their violence," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia. "The Eastern District of Virginia is resolute in our pursuit of anyone content to profit from misery and suffering of others. Together with the DEA and all our law enforcement partners, we will ensure that these narco-terrorists cannot hide from justice."

"This sentencing highlights the complexity of narco-terrorism and the threat it poses to our nation's security," said Special Agent in Charge Dustin Gillespie of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Operations Division. "Transnational criminal organizations operate without regard for borders, but they cannot outrun justice. With our global reach and international infrastructure, DEA is uniquely positioned to dismantle these illicit operations. We will continue to connect the dots, follow the money, and decisively shut down anyone who attempts to traffic poison into our communities - no matter where in the world they operate."

According to court documents, Xu used a transportation network and contacts in Latin America to smuggle multi-kilogram loads of cocaine into the United States. Xu's transportation network included access to airstrips, airports, armored cars, couriers, and associates. Xu was arrested in Guatemala, at the request of the United States, on July 17, 2025, after he and others agreed to arrange and facilitate the transportation of a multi-kilogram load of cocaine out of Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual who claimed to represent the CJNG. From in or around November 2023 until Xu's arrest, Xu and his co-conspirators imported over 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States and coordinated the laundering of over $22 million dollars from the sale of cocaine and fentanyl by drug trafficking organizations. This money laundering network used a variety of concealment methods, including cryptocurrency money transfers, trade-based money laundering, and encrypted communications platforms.

Xu was extradited to the United States on Jan. 30.

The DEA's Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the DEA's Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit and the DEA's offices in Colombia and Guatemala; the Colombian National Police; and the Guatemalan National Police. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provided significant assistance in securing the defendant's arrest and extradition from Guatemala.

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 Washington, D.C., comprises agents and officers from the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; DEA; Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA, with the prosecution being led by the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

MNF Trial Attorneys Chelsea R. Rooney and Claire M. Galasso and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christoper M. Carter for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

MNF's mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF's Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.