By Steve Neavling
A longtime Mexican drug trafficker accused of helping transport tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the U.S. over the span of four decades was sentenced Friday to 21 years and 10 months in prison.
Raul Flores-Hernandez, 71, of Guadalajara, pleaded guilty to international cocaine trafficking conspiracy in March 2023.
Flores-Hernandez led a drug trafficking organization that moved hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine from South America through Mexico to the U.S., according to the Justice Department.
The organization had ties to cartel leaders like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman of the Sinaloa Cartel and Hector Beltran of the Beltran Leyva Organization.
“For more than three decades, Raul Flores-Hernandez worked with the leaders of the world’s largest, most violent cartels, including El Chapo of the Sinaloa Cartel, to traffic deadly drugs into the United States,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a news release. “The Justice Department has held him accountable for his crimes, and he has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Anyone who profits from the violence and devastation of the illegal drug trade at the expense of the American people should be prepared to face the full force of the Justice Department.”
The investigation was handled by the DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division and San Ysidro Office and HSI San Diego.
“Raul Flores Hernandez spent decades working closely with El Chapo and others to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from South America, through Mexico, into the United States, knowing it would devastate American communities,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “He will now spend decades in prison. I commend DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division and San Ysidro District Office and our law enforcement partners for their work bringing Flores Hernandez to justice.”
