CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 46-year-old Mexican national and alleged associate of the Cartel del Golfo is set to appear in federal court in Corpus Christi on drug trafficking charges.
Roberto Bazan-Salinas, also known as "Beto," is scheduled for an arraignment and detention hearing at 10 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchel Neurock.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Bazan-Salinas on March 27, 2024. Between 2021 and 2022, he allegedly conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and more than 500 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine.
Mexican authorities arrested Bazan-Salinas in Guanajuato, Mexico, on March 5 pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant the United States had requested. He was extradited on June 18.
If convicted, Bazan-Salinas faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.
Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck announced the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.
The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force 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.
HSTF South Texas comprises agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of Transportation, IRS Criminal Investigation, Interpol/Department of State, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas leading the prosecution.
The Department of State, the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, and the Government of Mexico provided assistance securing the arrest and extradition from Mexico.
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