Woman recruiter for Jalisco cartel sentenced to 20 years in prison

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — A woman who was a recruiter for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was recently sentenced in El Paso to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the Western District of Texas.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Karla Adriana Votta-Cardenas, 43, from Ciudad Juarez, worked for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, primarily trafficking methamphetamine.

Votta-Cardenas served as a large-scale recruiter for the cartel, recruiting drivers through “help wanted” ads on social media. She recruited more than 20 drivers using this method and did not disclose that they would be trafficking drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Votta-Cardenas was arrested by Mexican authorities and extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on Nov. 1, 2023.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the drug trafficking organization was led by Jorge Sanchez-Morales, who oversaw the operation on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the organization imported liquid methamphetamine from Juarez into El Paso, and then transported the substance to Atlanta concealed in the fuel tanks of semi-tractors.

In Atlanta, the liquid methamphetamine was converted to a crystalline form and then distributed.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

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