Two Mexican Nationals Transferred from Mexico to the United States to Face Charges of Manufacturing and Distributing Fentanyl and Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Carlos Alberto Guerrero Mercado and Guillermo Isaias Perez Parra, who are Mexican citizens, were arraigned on a superseding indictment charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute listed chemicals, and money laundering conspiracy. Both defendants were ordered detained pending trial. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho. The defendants were transferred to the United States from Mexico on January 20, 2026.

The defendants are among 37 Mexican nationals who were transferred to the United States from Mexico yesterday to face a range of federal criminal charges around the country.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), announced the arraignment.

"As alleged, these defendants played a key role in manufacturing the fentanyl poisoning our nation," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "The defendants and their co-conspirators obtained the chemicals necessary to manufacture vast quantities of fentanyl-also known as precursor chemicals-from companies in China. Now they will face American justice for their callous crimes. Our Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for the fentanyl scourge at all levels of the production and distribution of this lethal drug."

Mr. Nocella thanked the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs for their assistance.

"As alleged, these two individuals are among the worst kind of predators: traffickers who poison our communities with staggering quantities of deadly fentanyl, manufactured with chemicals funneled from overseas and unleashed on American streets. HSI has relentlessly targeted every link in this lethal supply chain - from the chemical brokers in China to the cartel chemists in Mexico and the global traffickers - and will continue to do so with unflinching focus on our mission to protect our homeland. HSI and the HSTF New York will stop at nothing to investigate, identify and arrest those who profit from this epidemic of death, wherever in the world they may hide," stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.

As alleged in the indictment and court filings, the defendants obtained the chemical building blocks of fentanyl from suppliers in China, often transporting the chemicals to Mexico through border towns in the United States. Once in Mexico, the defendants converted these precursor chemicals into massive quantities of fentanyl, which were later distributed and sold in the United States. When law enforcement interrupted the flow of precursor chemicals from China, the defendants conspired to manufacture their own precursor chemicals.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

This prosecution is also 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.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section. Assistant United States Attorneys William P. Campos, Chand Edwards-Balfour and Adam Amir are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

CARLOS ALBERTO GUERRERO MERCADO
Age: 47
Mexico

GUILLERMO ISAIAS PEREZ PARRA
Age: 41
Mexico

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-287 (S-1) (EK)