California merchant sentenced for drug trafficking alliance with Jalisco New Generation Cartel

A 56-year-old, California based chemical broker was sentenced Friday to serve 18 years and 8 months in federal prison after being found guilty charges linked to methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering.

This was announced by the Justice Department in a statement, detailing that Javier Algredo Vázquez, a New York resident, was convicted by a jury in July 2023 for conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in the United States, among other crimes.

According to the accusation, Algredo Vázquez acquired chemical substances, including methylamine used in the production of methamphetamine, to later deliver them to the feared Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking groups in Mexico.

The authorities determined that the now convicted man imported more than 5 million kilograms of chemical compounds from the United States to the Aztec nation, including enough precursors to produce more than 700 million doses of methamphetamine and more than 2 billion doses of fentanyl, the lethal synthetic opioid.

A precursor is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that produces another compound.

Federal prosecutors also said that Algredo Vázquez also transferred millions of dollars from U.S. soil to chemical product suppliers in China and India, in order to acquire the necessary supplies to supply CJNG operations.

“The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, based in the state of Jalisco in Mexico, is one of the largest, most dangerous and prolific drug cartels in Mexico and is responsible for the transportation of large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs to United States,” according to the Department of Justice.

The investigation that led to Algredo Vázquez's conviction was led by agents from the DEA in Los Angeles and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston, Texas, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service.