A man who prosecutors say was responsible for transporting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the United States over the course of over three decades was sentenced in San Diego federal court Friday to nearly 22 years in prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Raul Flores-Hernandez, 71, of Guadalajara, Mexico, led a drug trafficking organization with ties to cartel leaders like Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Hector Beltran of the Beltran Leya Organization.
Prosecutors said Flores-Hernandez, who is also known as “El Tio,” arranged for cocaine to be transported from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia to Mexican ports. There, the drugs were moved by land into the United States.
Flores-Hernandez also bribed government employees in exchange for their assistance in his trafficking activities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
He was arrested in 2017 by Mexican authorities and extradited to the United States in 2021.
Along with his 262-month prison sentence, Flores-Hernandez was ordered to forfeit $280 million in drug proceeds.