Expelled Mexican national sentenced for role in large-scale international cocaine trafficking offense

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Mexican national was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

According to court documents, Jose Francisco Mendoza-Gomez, aka Braulio Jelipe, was a member of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for importing multi-hundred kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States for years. The DTO, which had operations in New York, Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, sourced its cocaine from suppliers in Colombia and provided logistical and financial support to coordinate the narcotics’ passage through Central America and Mexico and, ultimately, into the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement made several cocaine seizures, including approximately 971 kilograms of cocaine on April 21, 2017, and 500 kilograms of cocaine on May 6, 2017, nearly all of which was attributable to the DTO. The investigation revealed the DTO conspired to import at least 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

In addition to cocaine trafficking, the DTO was involved in transporting substantial illicit proceeds earned from its operations back to Mexico and elsewhere. DTO members engaged in bulk money transfers with cocaine suppliers and utilized a Chinese money laundering network to repatriate bulk narcotics proceeds out of the United States.

The DTO engaged in bribery of Mexican officials, including to gain access to information useful to its cocaine trafficking operations, and planned and attempted to execute multiple kidnappings related to rival drug traffickers and in efforts to secure outstanding debts.

Mendoza-Gomez assisted in coordinating and transporting cocaine for distribution in the United States, handled hundreds of thousands worth of narcotics proceeds, provided advice to the DTO’s leader, and participated in the DTO’s efforts to plan kidnappings and obtain information from corrupt Mexican officials.

On Aug. 12, 2025, Mendoza-Gomez, along with 25 other fugitives, were expelled from Mexico to the United States.

Two of Mendoza-Gomez’s co-conspirators, Marisela Flores-Torruco, aka La Dama de Hierro, and Qiyun Chen, have already been convicted for their roles in the DTO, as have several individuals involved in the related Chinese money laundering network. Flores-Torruco pled guilty on Oct. 9, 2018, and was sentenced on Feb. 1, 2019, to 16 years and eight months in prison. Chen pled guilty on Nov. 8, 2017, and was sentenced on Feb. 23, 2018, to 10 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, with assistance from DEA’s offices in Cartagena, Colombia; Bogota, Colombia; Panama City, Panamá; Mexico City; and Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service also provided substantial assistance in the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Carter and Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-147.