courtesy: The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime
San Diego, California – Three men accused of running some of the most dangerous criminal operations tied to the U.S.–Mexico border are now in custody in San Diego, after being extradited from Mexico earlier this week.
Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno, known as “Flaquito,” Juan Carlos Felix Gastelum, known as “El Chavo Félix,” and Abdul Karim Conteh were brought to the United States on August 12 under Mexico’s National Security law. All three appeared in federal court Wednesday in the Southern District of California, entering not guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie E. Torres.
These aren’t small-time players. Prosecutors allege Huerta Nuno has spent the last 15 years as a Tijuana plaza boss, moving thousands of kilos of meth, fentanyl, and cocaine into San Diego and Los Angeles while collecting millions in cash shipped back over the border. Felix Gastelum is accused of being a senior figure in the Sinaloa Cartel — and the son-in-law of longtime cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — running meth labs in the remote Sierra Madre mountains and pushing product into the U.S.
Conteh’s alleged operation was different but no less sprawling: federal authorities say he coordinated the smuggling of thousands of migrants from across the globe — including from the Middle East and Africa — into the United States, charging fees that sometimes reached tens of thousands of dollars per person. Migrants, prosecutors say, crossed through Mexico and were brought into the U.S. by ladders, tunnels, and other covert routes.
The charges are the culmination of years of cross-border investigation, involving the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, and U.S. Border Patrol. Each agency points to the arrests as proof that even fugitives who manage to evade capture for years can still be brought to court.
While the men now await trial — Huerta Nuno and Conteh have court dates set for September 19, Felix Gastelum for September 12 — the cases highlight the continued reach and influence of transnational criminal organizations along the southern border.
Officials also say these cases underscore another reality: the criminal economies moving drugs, money, and people across the border are deeply intertwined, and taking down one part of the network requires coordination on both sides of the border.
For now, the three defendants remain in federal custody, with the next chapter of their cases set to unfold in the coming weeks. Whether that results in convictions or more drawn-out legal battles, authorities say the arrests are a significant — if partial — victory in an ongoing fight.
