KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A Mexican man who helped an armed cartel that moved cocaine and meth into the United States pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Knoxville.
Jesus Heriberto Barragan Chavez admitted to a count of conspiracy to import 500 grams or more of the drug, and he faces at least 10 years in prison. He also could be fined up to $10 million.
It'll be up to U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan to impose sentence following a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing is set for Jan. 30.
Barragan Chavez was being held in an undisclosed location.
Barragan Chavez, known as "Wero", was arrested in Houston in August 2023 in the case. The indictment against him was unsealed Friday as he appeared in court before U.S. District Judge Chuck Atchley.
Barragan Chavez and family members were involved in a cartel in Mexico that shipped meth and cocaine in large amounts to the U.S., federal records state.
Barragan Chavez's role included getting guns, paying "armed fighters" hired by the drug traffickers to fight a rival cartel and delivering ammunition "at the request of drug trafficking organization leadership," records state.
The group routinely produced hundreds of kilos of meth for U.S. distribution. It paid for a meth production center in Michoacan, Mexico, records state.
As a result of Barragan Chavez's work, meth shipments ended up in East Tennessee.
His plea agreement also refers to Jose Antonio Arroyo Ortuno, who pleaded guilty in April in Knoxville federal court to a meth conspiracy count for which he was sentenced to a little less than seven years in prison.
One delivery coordinated by Arroyo included over 900 kilos of meth seized in Atlanta in March 2020, records state.
"Others working with Arroyo drove additional methamphetamine supplied by Arroyo into the Eastern District of Tennessee, where it was seized by law enforcement," Barragan Chavez's plea agreement states.
As part of his judgment, Barragan Chavez agreed to forfeit $100,000, records state.