Chinese national in US admits conspiracy with transnational drug cartel
Washington, June 30 (IANS) A Chinese national has pleaded guilty in a US federal court to importing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States, laundering more than USD 22 million in drug proceeds and providing material support to the Mexican drug cartel ‘Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG)’, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Wenshen Xu, 52, a Honduras-based Chinese national, admitted to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and providing material support to the CJNG, which the United States has designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.
According to court documents, Xu operated a transportation network across Latin America with access to airstrips, airports, armoured vehicles, couriers and associates to move multi-kilogram cocaine shipments into the United States.
Prosecutors said that on July 17, 2025, Xu and his associates agreed to transport a multi-kilogram cocaine shipment from Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual claiming to represent the CJNG. Investigators said the conspiracy ultimately imported more than 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
Authorities also said Xu and his co-conspirators laundered more than USD 22 million from cocaine and fentanyl sales through cryptocurrency transfers, trade-based money laundering and encrypted communications platforms.
Xu was arrested in Guatemala City on July 17, 2025, at the request of the United States and extradited on January 30.
He is due to be sentenced on October 15. He faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The CJNG is one of Mexico’s largest and most violent criminal organisations, with operations spanning drug trafficking, money laundering and other organised crime across the Americas. US authorities have intensified efforts in recent years to dismantle the cartel’s supply chains and financial infrastructure as part of a broader campaign against transnational narcotics trafficking.
–IANS
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