Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A man from the Chicago area, Jose Eladio Medina Valenzuela, was sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for his role as a money launderer for a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization. The sentence was handed down on June 11, 2025.
Medina Valenzuela, aged 45 and residing in Cicero, Illinois, pleaded guilty on January 6, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the plea agreement, between May and October 2020, he collaborated with others to manage proceeds from methamphetamine sales in Iowa. These funds were transferred to individuals in Mexico to support the drug trafficking operations. Over $335,000 from more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine distributed in Iowa was delivered to Medina Valenzuela.
The sentencing took place in Cedar Rapids under United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Medina Valenzuela received a sentence of 57 months' imprisonment followed by a two-year term of supervised release. There is no parole available in the federal system.
Until his transfer to a federal prison facility, Medina Valenzuela remains in custody with the United States Marshal's service.
Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards prosecuted the case. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Drug Enforcement Administration; United States Postal Inspection Service; and Homeland Security Investigations. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations using a coordinated approach.
Further details about OCDETF can be accessed at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
