Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Mexican national pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl for importation into the United States, and conspiracy to distribute listed chemicals for the unlawful importation of a controlled substance.
“For years, Ojeda Elenes manufactured and imported enormous quantities of fentanyl often using precursor chemicals obtained from China, which contributed to the opioid epidemic poisoning our communities,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case sends a clear message: no matter where they operate, those who manufacture and then traffic deadly drugs into our country will be relentlessly pursued, prosecuted, and brought to justice. To protect the American people, the Criminal Division will continue to use every available tool to dismantle the transnational criminal organizations responsible for this devastation that has occurred in our country.”
“Ojeda Elenes architected the poisoning of Americans by manufacturing fentanyl on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel,” said Associate Chief of Operations Brian Clark, of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Pacific Southwest Region 5. “He obtained precursor chemicals from China, produced fentanyl in a Mexican lab, and fueled addiction from coast to coast, harming our communities. The DEA and HSTF partners will continue to strike at the heart of drug trafficking networks that threaten the safety and wellbeing of the American people.”
“Fentanyl manufacturers like Ojeda Elenes leave death and devastation in communities across the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston. “This guilty plea sends a clear message to those who manufacture and traffic fentanyl into the United States, HSI and our law enforcement partners will find you and bring you to justice. HSI remains committed to dismantling the transnational criminal organizations responsible for importing this deadly drug into our country.”
According to court documents, Hernan Geovani Ojeda Elenes, 48, of Culiacan, Mexico, manufactured large amounts of fentanyl that he then imported into the United States over a course of several years. The documents allege that from at least 2019 to 2024, Ojeda Elenes, worked with his father and co-defendant, Hernan Domingo Ojeda Lopez, and others, to operate a drug trafficking organization based in Sinaloa, Mexico.
Ojeda Elenes admitted that he procured large amounts of fentanyl precursor chemicals, such as 4-Piperidone and N-Phenylpiperidin-4-amine, by purchasing them from Chinese companies and shipping them to his lab in Mexico. Ojeda Elenes used these chemicals to manufacture fentanyl which he and others subsequently imported into the United States for further distribution and sale. Over the course of the conspiracy, Ojeda Elenes was ultimately responsible for the creation and distribution of several metric tons of fentanyl.
The plea was accepted by District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Ojada Elenes faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
DEA and HSI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance to Ojeda Elenes’ January 2026 transfer from Mexico to the United States pursuant to Mexico’s National Security law. The Department of Justice thanks the Government of Mexico for its assistance in securing Ojeda Elenes’ presence in the United States for prosecution.
Trial Attorneys Erik Cervantes and Kirk Handrich of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit investigates and prosecutes the top command and control elements of international drug cartels, drug trafficking organizations and related transnational criminal organizations.
This case is 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.