The Mexico-based leader of a violent drug trafficking organization was arraigned on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle following his transfer from Mexico, according to an announcement by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.
Jose Luis Sanchez-Valencia, 58, was transported from Mexico to the United States last month. The indictment for four federal felonies was returned in 2022. Sanchez-Valencia is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and three counts of illegal use of a communication facility, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Sanchez-Valencia entered a plea of “not guilty,” and trial was set in front of U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on April 20.
“This defendant was the cartel-connected leader of a violent drug trafficking ring operating in the South Puget Sound region,” Floyd said in the release. “His telephone calls link him to the conspiracy and to a local leader who was shot outside a Kitsap County stash house. Our goal in these investigations is to bring the leaders to justice. Whether they are here in Washington or abroad, they are pulling the strings for the cartels that profit at the cost of human lives in our community.”
On Feb. 28, 2023, a local leader of the drug ring, Jose Elias Barbosa, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for his leadership role in the drug trafficking organization tied to the CJNG cartel. The Sanchez-Valencia indictment cites three phone calls between Barbosa and Sanchez-Valencia tied to activities of the drug ring, according to the release.
In November 2019, the drug ring received a shipment of liquid methamphetamine concealed in candles. Barbosa helped members to extract the methamphetamine and cook it into crystal form at a Port Orchard location.
The charges in the indictment have penalties of a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
Sanchez-Valencia was amongst 37 Mexican nationals wanted for serious crimes in the United States transferred into U.S. custody on Jan. 20. The Justice Department Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs coordinated the transfers.
The charges contained in the Sanchez-Valencia indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Amy Jaquette and C. Andrew Colasurdo.
