A Mexican citizen, Noe Gonzalez-Martinez, also known as Tocayo, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a U.S. federal prison on charges connected to a murder-for-hire plot. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the sentence, which follows Gonzalez-Martinez's conviction on several charges including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to kidnap.
Gonzalez-Martinez was described as a leader within the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN), based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He was found guilty after a federal jury deliberated for approximately one hour following a three-day trial in December 2023. According to U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, Gonzalez-Martinez must serve life plus an additional 60 months in prison.
"Drug trafficking and violence go hand-in-hand, and this is particularly true in the case of cartels, as this case shows," stated Ganjei. He emphasized that the Department of Justice is focused on dismantling cartel operations and the conviction of Gonzalez-Martinez is a significant step.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux commended the efforts that led to the disruption of CDN's activities. "This case is a testament that the DEA is definite in its fight against these foreign terrorist drug trafficking organizations," Comeaux said, noting that the organization had illegal plans to conduct violent crimes on U.S. soil.
The investigation uncovered that from September 7 to September 13, 2021, Gonzalez-Martinez coordinated with CDN members to execute a kidnapping and murder operation in Laredo, Texas. Law enforcement was able to thwart the crime and apprehended Gonzalez-Martinez at a port of entry in Laredo in July 2022. His attempts to attribute the crimes to others during the trial were unsuccessful.
According to Craig Larrabee of ICE-HSI, the actions of Gonzalez-Martinez pose a significant threat to South Texas, stating, "The campaign of terror, drug-trafficking, and violence this man employed has no place on American soil."
Gonzalez-Martinez's co-conspirators, Juan Antonio Martinez-Padilla, Gregorio Gonzalez-Barragan, and Rodolfo Reyna-Zapata, have received lengthy prison sentences following their involvement in the conspiracy.
The case, led by the DEA and ICE-HSI in conjunction with the Laredo Police Department, falls under the Department of Justice's Operation Take Back America initiative that targets cartels and transnational criminal organizations. Gonzalez-Martinez remains in custody pending transfer to a designated Bureau of Prisons facility.