2 Mexican nationals, defendants in ICE cases secured in Arizona

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Two Mexican nationals who are targets of an ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation appeared for their initial appearances Feb. 28, after they were secured from Mexico the previous day.

Jose Bibiano Cabrera-Cabrera, 37 and Jesus Humberto Limon-Lopez, 43, were taken into U.S. custody after members of drug cartels were recently designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and Cártel de Golfo.

These defendants are collectively alleged to have been responsible for the importation into the United States of massive quantities of poison, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, as well as associated acts of violence.

Limon-Lopez is charged with Continuing Criminal Enterprise; Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine; Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine; Distribution of Methamphetamine; Distribution of Fentanyl; Distribution of Heroin; Distribution of Cocaine; and Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Firearms and Ammunition. He faces up to life imprisonment.

Cabrera-Cabrera is charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine; Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine, Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine; and Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Firearms and Ammunition. He faces up to life imprisonment.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The OCDETF Arizona Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Arizona Army National Guard, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, and the Scottsdale Police Department.

The prosecution is being handled by the United States Attorney Office for the District of Arizona.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)