Mexican Cartel Member Gets 36 Months for Smuggling Crash

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In a dramatic incident in South Texas, a member of the violent Mexican cartel Cartel del Noreste (CDN) was sentenced to 36 months in prison for his role in a high-speed smuggling operation that ended in a rollover crash.

Smuggling Operation Ends in Crash

Miguel Angel Delgado-Guzman, a self-admitted member of the CDN, was arrested in November 2025 after a multi-agency pursuit led to a crash near Zapata, Texas. According to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez, Delgado-Guzman fled law enforcement on November 28, 2025, and his vehicle rolled over after entering a curve at an unsafe speed.

Despite the violent nature of the crash, no serious injuries were reported. Three illegal aliens, who were trapped in the vehicle, were freed by responding officers and transferred to Border Patrol custody. Delgado-Guzman was booked into Zapata County Regional Jail and charged with smuggling of persons, evading arrest, and resisting arrest.

Cartel Designated as Foreign Terrorist Organization

The sentencing was announced by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials, who stated that Delgado-Guzman admitted to being a member of the CDN, a violent Mexico-based cartel designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the Trump administration in 2025.

The CDN, along with seven other transnational criminal organizations, was the first group to be designated as FTOs by the U.S. Department of State in February 2025. The Trump administration has targeted the organization’s narcotics and alien smuggling networks and weapons trafficking operations, using financial sanctions to disrupt its money laundering activities.

Sanctions and Illicit Activities

In October, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four individuals and several companies linked to the CDN. The cartel is known for using a variety of legitimate businesses, including horse racing, construction, gas, and casinos, to launder proceeds from illicit activities such as fuel theft, extortion, kidnapping, and narcotics-alien smuggling.

These operations have made the CDN a significant threat to national security and border integrity. The case highlights the ongoing efforts by U.S. agencies to dismantle such networks and protect communities from cartel-related violence and crime.

Source: Breitbart