3/19/25, 4:59 PM Office of Public Affairs | Armed Drug Cartel Member Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking
fficking Hundreds of Kilos of Cocaine and Met…
PRESS RELEASE
Armed Drug Cartel Member Sentenced
to Over 20 Years in Prison for
Trafficking Hundreds of Kilos of
Cocaine and Methamphetamine
Friday, February 21, 2025 For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs
A Mexican national and armed member of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) was
sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 20 years and 10 months in prison for his role in a
conspiracy that distributed large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine destined for the
United States.
“For at least five years, Edgar Fabian Villasenor-Garcia took up arms to carry out the CJNG’s
criminal activities, including trafficking enormous amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine
into the United States,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s
Criminal Division. “These highly addictive drugs and the violence associated with the CJNG’s
criminal operations have devastated communities in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Today’s sentence sends another clear message to members of the CJNG and other Mexican
drug trafficking organizations: We are committed to working tirelessly with our domestic and
international law enforcement partners to eradicate Mexican cartels.”
“Eliminating the cartels responsible for the deadly drug crisis in the United States is the Drug
Enforcement Administration’s top operational priority, and Edgar Fabian Villasenor-Garcia’s
sentencing today — as an armed CJNG operative — brings us a step closer to our goal,” said
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3/19/25, 4:59 PM Office of Public Affairs | Armed Drug Cartel Member Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking Hundreds of Kilos of Cocaine and Met…
Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “The CJNG
is responsible for fueling the deadly drug crisis in the United States, as well as unprecedented
violence in Mexico, our neighbor. The DEA is relentlessly committed to defeating the CJNG and
other cartels, and we will exhaust every tool in the justice system to fight back, to save
American lives, and to bring these cartels to justice.”
According to court documents, Edgar Fabian Villasenor-Garcia, also known as Gary and El
Monje, 54, was responsible for trafficking at least 450 kilograms of cocaine and at least 780
kilograms of methamphetamine for importation into the United States on behalf of the CJNG,
one of the most powerful, violent, and prolific drug cartels in Mexico. The CJNG kills, tortures,
corrupts, and traffics hundreds of tons, if not more, of cocaine, methamphetamine, and other
drugs into the United States and other countries. The CJNG also uses its drug proceeds to fund
its violence, and by doing so, ravages communities and imperils countless lives.
Villasenor-Garcia joined the CJNG before 2017 and carried a firearm in furtherance of the
CJNG’s criminal operations. In November 2024, he pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges
and admitted that CJNG members used firearms and violence to advance their mandate,
including to protect drugs and drug proceeds, to control the CJNG members, to fight rival
cartels, and to escape capture by law enforcement.
The DEA Los Angeles Field Division investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Lernik Begian and Douglas Meisel of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and
Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International
Affairs and Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations also provided significant
assistance.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.
OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug trafficking organizations and
other criminal networks that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-
driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local
enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found
at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Updated February 21, 2025
Topics
DRUG TRAFFICKING FIREARMS OFFENSES
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3/19/25, 4:59 PM Office of Public Affairs | Armed Drug Cartel Member Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Prison for Trafficking Hundreds of Kilos of Cocaine and Met…
Components
Criminal Division Criminal - Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section Criminal - Office of
International Affairs Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Forces
Press Release Number: 25-185
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