Tara K. McGrath, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California
Edgar Perez Villa, an alleged member of a Tijuana-based enforcement group for the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), has been extradited from Mexico to the United States. Perez Villa appeared in federal court in San Diego on Friday, where he was arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt presided over the hearing and scheduled a detention hearing for February 27, 2025, at 2 p.m. before Judge Michelle Pettit. A motion hearing and trial setting are set for March 28, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., before U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia A. Bashant.
Perez Villa is charged along with other alleged cartel leaders such as Edgar Herrera Pardo, Carlos Lorenzo Hinojosa Guerrero, and Israel Alejandro Vazquez-Vazquez in connection with drug trafficking crimes. The charges stem from indictments returned on March 6, 2020, and March 16, 2021.
Court documents allege that the defendants were part of "Los Cabos," a violent group operating in Baja California to secure control for CJNG. The group allegedly planned over 150 murders to maintain control of drug trafficking routes through Tijuana into the United States via San Diego.
Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden stated, “For far too long, violent cartels have inflicted untold suffering through violence and drug addiction.” DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian Clark added that Perez Villa had spent years destroying communities through drug trafficking and violence.
The case is part of ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) to dismantle high-level members of drug trafficking organizations. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs collaborated with Mexican law enforcement to secure Perez Villa's arrest and extradition.
Perez Villa faces charges including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances with potential sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment along with fines up to $10 million.
