A Mexican citizen residing in Atlanta, Georgia, was found guilty on July 27 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States, following a five-day trial in Laredo, Texas.
The jury deliberated for about six hours before convicting Wblester Villanueva Echeverria. Evidence presented at trial showed that from June 7, 2019, until at least August 8, 2023, Echeverria and others conspired to import methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico through Laredo for distribution in the Atlanta area and along the east coast. The organization was responsible for importing approximately 10,460 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at around $157 million.
Authorities began their investigation in November 2021 after seizing over one metric ton of methamphetamine and more than fifty kilograms of cocaine concealed within a cauliflower shipment entering through the World Trade Bridge Port of Entry. Additional shipments tied to Echeverria included nearly eight hundred kilograms of meth hidden inside strawberry puree and over four hundred sixty kilograms within charcoal loads. The jury also heard about connections between Mexican drug importers, a Dallas cell, Echeverria’s Georgia-based associates, as well as evidence that he used a Facebook account under an alias and cycled through multiple phone numbers while instructing co-conspirators to delete communications.
Sentencing will be scheduled later before U.S. District Judge John A. Kazen. Echeverria faces up to life imprisonment and a possible $10 million fine; he remains in custody pending sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day, Leslie Cortez, and Thomas Sekula prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, aimed at dismantling criminal cartels and transnational organizations operating within or affecting the United States.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas has offices across Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville; employs more than two hundred attorneys; covers forty-three counties with a population exceeding nine million; focuses on prosecuting federal crimes; handles civil cases for the government; serves under the Attorney General as part of the Department of Justice; and has included leaders such as Alamdar Hamdani among its former heads, according to information provided by its official website.