Jaime Gonzalez Duran, a Mexican citizen, made his first appearance in the US District Court for the District of Columbia today to face international drug charges.
According to the allegations in court documents, between 2000 and February 2010, Gonzalez Duran, alias Hummer, 46, was a high-ranking member of the Zetas, an international drug-trafficking organization allied with the Gulf Cartel. Together, the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel, collectively known as “The Company”, were a violent, transnational drug-trafficking organization based in Mexico engaged in the production, distribution and importation of tons of cocaine and marijuana from Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama and elsewhere in the United States. Gonzalez Duran was also the “plaza boss” of the Mexican cities of Reynosa and Miguel Aleman, controlling the Zetas’ drug trade in those areas of operation.
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a fourth superseding indictment against Gonzalez Duran on May 9, 2013. In October 2015, Gonzalez Duran was served with the preliminary arrest warrant requesting his extradition to the United States. Gonzalez Duran remained in custody in Mexico pending his extradition. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on October 20, 2022.
Gonzalez Duran is charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana with intent knowing that these drugs would be imported into the United States. If convicted, Gonzalez Duran faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA’s Houston Division Office is investigating with assistance from the DEA’s Mexico Country Office.
Trial attorneys Kirk Handrich, Melanie Alsworth and Janet Turnbull of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations provided significant assistance in this case.
An indictment is only an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
