A member of the Jalisco New Generacion Cartel (CJNG) pleaded guilty to fentanyl trafficking and money laundering offenses in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 28, 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.
Juan Francisco Castaneda, also known as “Pariente,” age 44, entered his guilty plea after two days of trial testimony before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala. Castaneda admitted to all charges in the superseding indictment, including conspiracy to traffic fentanyl, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and distribution of fentanyl. These activities took place in the Birmingham and Homewood areas.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Castaneda operated his drug trafficking and money laundering organization using contraband phones while serving multiple life sentences for murder at Bullock Correctional Facility in Alabama. He used a network of couriers and local businesses as fronts for distributing fentanyl and collecting proceeds from drug sales. Undercover operations revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were laundered through these couriers and businesses to CJNG sources in Mexico.
Court documents indicate that Castaneda had previously pleaded guilty to involvement in a 2008 multi-homicide in Shelby County, where five people were killed over a cartel debt.
“Cartel activity has no place in Alabama. Those who traffic dangerous drugs in our communities will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona. “This case demonstrates our unwavering commitment to dismantling criminal organizations that endanger our communities. I commend our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their hard work and dedication in bringing this defendant to justice.”
“This case delivers a decisive blow against the Jalisco New Generacion Cartel (CJNG) and their ruthless network operating in Alabama,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steven L. Hofer, New Orleans Division. “CJNG is responsible for flooding our communities with deadly amounts of fentanyl and using criminal schemes, like money laundering from within prison, to fuel their enterprise. This guilty plea is a clear victory for public safety and a testament to the fact we will use every resource available to neutralize these transnational criminal organizations and hold every one of their operators, from the streets to the cartel leadership, fully accountable.”
“This case underscores the devastating impact of transnational criminal organizations like the Jalisco New Generacion Cartel have on our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama Steven N. Schrank. “Homeland Security Investigations remains steadfast in its commitment to dismantling these dangerous networks, disrupting their operations, and bringing their members to justice. Through collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners, we will continue to leverage every resource to protect the American people from the scourge of fentanyl trafficking and the criminal enterprises that fuel it.”
As part of his plea agreement, Castaneda agreed to forfeit $700,000.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 8, 2026.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is life imprisonment; conspiracy to commit money laundering carries up to 20 years.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), United States Marshals Service (USMS), United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Hoover Police Department, Birmingham Police Department, Bessemer Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Allison Garnett and Carson Gilbert are prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of an initiative under Executive Order 14159 aimed at protecting Americans against threats from criminal cartels such as CJNG by coordinating efforts among various federal agencies including DEA https://www.dea.gov/, HSI https://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-investigations-hsi/, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives https://www.atf.gov/, Federal Bureau of Investigation https://www.fbi.gov/, USMS https://www.usmarshals.gov/, IRS https://www.irs.gov/ with prosecutions led by the U.S Attorney’s Office for Northern District of Alabama.
