SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Omar Cuenca Marino, presumed leader of Los Rojos (the Reds), has been extradited from Mexico to the state of Georgia, according to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office.
On Tuesday morning, Cuenca Marino was arraigned before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard on federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, and the unlawful import of, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the United States.
He’s also accused of money laundering and allegedly directed the collection of millions of dollars of drug proceeds for transport from the United States back to Mexico.
Cuenca Marino pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The extradition process took almost 10 years from the day he was arrested in Mexico back in 2016.
Cuenca Marino reportedly led Los Rojos, a faction loyal to the Gulf cartel, one of the eight designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. Department of State.
“The apprehension of Omar Cuenca Marino, leader of the Los Rojos cartel, is an important success brought on by efforts made by the United States as it tries to dismantle cartels that traffic in drugs, this will help protect our borders,” said Steven Schrank, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta.
According to the arraignment, Cuenca Marino supervised the exportation and distribution of drugs into the U.S. from 2013 to 2016.
He had been indicted by a federal grand jury on December 21, 2016.
“This is part of our commitment to fight the opioid crisis and transnational crime, we are taking advantage of all our available resources to dismantle illicit cross-border operations,” said Schrank.
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