Mexican Drug Trafficker Extradited to the United States on Federal Violations
PLANO – A Mexican national with dual citizenship has been extradited from Mexico to the United States to face drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Nazario Cavazos-DeLuna, 59, of Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 14, 2010, and charged with continuing a criminal enterprise; conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, or ecstasy; conspiracy to commit money laundering; using or carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Cavazos-DeLuna is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, receiving his naturalization in October 1995. Cavazos-DeLuna was arrested in Mexico pursuant to a provisional arrest request by the United States and subsequently, extradited to the United States on Sep. 20, 2022. He appeared in federal court in Plano, Texas on Sep. 21, 2022, for an initial appearance and arraignment and was ordered to be detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, Cavazos-DeLuna is the long-term leader of a large-scale, international organization importing large quantities of multiple types of drugs into the United States from Mexico. The drugs include methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. He was headquartered in the United States but fled to Mexico where he was captured and extradited.
If convicted, Cavazos-DeLuna faces 10 years to life in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Eastern District of Texas.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Cavazos to the United States. Special thanks to the Government of Mexico for their help in the capture and extradition of Cavazos-DeLuna.
An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.