Last Friday, April 14, marked a significant stride in the United States’ battle against the public health crisis precipitated by fentanyl trafficking. Spearheaded by the Department of Justice of the Biden administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a criminal network associated with the Sinaloa Cartel was exposed. This cartel is notorious for being a major contributor to the trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid.
The key figures topping the list include Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, as well as Ovidio and Joaquín Guzmán López, who are the sons of the former Sinaloa drug trafficker, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The US crackdown extends beyond the Guzmán family to several crucial lieutenants, associates, and operators within the faction of the Pacific Cartel known as “Los Chapitos.”
One individual stood out among the list due to her gender and nationality. Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, a Guatemalan woman, was identified as a significant associate of Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s sons.
So, what was Rubio Zea’s contribution to the ‘Los Chapitos’ drug trafficking network?
Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea was implicated by the US Department of Justice on charges related to the conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl. The charges also suggested that she had intended, known, and had reasonable cause to believe that the narcotics would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
She is also under indictment for the conspiracy to distribute and possess fentanyl with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges follow investigations by US authorities that identified Rubio Zea as instrumental in the procurement of 25 kilograms of N-BOC-4-Piperidone from the company SXPC by members of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Rubio Zea, a businesswoman from Guatemala, functioned within the “Los Chapitos” trafficking network by leveraging her contacts with precursor chemical manufacturers based in China to provide them with the necessary components for the potent synthetic opioid.
According to a sealed indictment from the Southern District of New York reviewed by Infobae, Rubio Zea maintained a close professional relationship with sales representatives from the Chinese firms WSBT and SXCP. These companies were also penalized by the US Treasury Department.
Further reading:
- Video surfaces of Mexican man linked to Sinaloa Cartel asking Belgian trafficker Othman El Ballouti to pay a debt
- Franco Tabarez Martínez sanctioned for drug trafficking from La Nueva Familia Michoacana to Atlanta and Houston
- Memo Garza of La Adictiva addresses controversy around the song JGL, dedicated to El Chapo
When it comes to her association with “Los Chapitos,” it’s been reported that both Joaquín Guzmán Loera’s sons and their principal operators entrusted Rubio Zea with the negotiation of the procurement and delivery of precursor chemicals for fentanyl production. She had enough contacts to ensure the shipments could slip past customs authorities and officials at checkpoints without being intercepted.
It’s suspected that the precursor chemicals used to produce synthetic drugs were concealed in food and food packaging, making them challenging to detect at border controls.
What about the extradition of Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea to the U.S.?
On March 17, the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, who was identified as one of the primary associates of “Los Chapitos” in Guatemala.
Her arrest resulted from a collaboration between Guatemalan security agents and various U.S. law enforcement agencies. After Rubio Zea was detained, the procedures for her extradition to the United States commenced, culminating on Thursday, July 20.
As per a statement from the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office, the 33-year-old woman was flown from Guatemala to New York, United States, in a Guatemalan Air Force (FAG) plane, along with four other drug traffickers of the same nationality.
Despite Rubio Zea expressing her willingness in March to accept the extradition process and waive any objections, appeals, or challenges before the Third Court of Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking, and Crimes against the Environment, the timeline for her to face her criminal process and the determination of her legal situation in the United States remains to be seen.