FirstAlerts

Mexican National Sentenced to 420 Months in Federal Prison for Drug Conspiracy

Juan Alberto Gutierrez-Guerra was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving methamphetamine and heroin.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 9:18 a.m. ET
According to official records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, Juan Alberto Gutierrez-Guerra, 36, was on Aug. 11, 2026, to 420 months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to import methamphetamine and heroin into the United States. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced the sentence, which was presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio, Texas. Court records state that Gutierrez-Guerra was one of five occupants in a vehicle pulled over by Uvalde County Sheriff's Office deputies on Oct. 4, 2021. Inside the vehicle, officers located a backpack containing 10 bundles of methamphetamine and one bundle of heroin. An investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations revealed that Gutierrez-Guerra and co-defendant Oscar David Perez-Arita conspired to smuggle the narcotics to San Antonio before returning to Mexico. Gutierrez-Guerra and Perez-Arita were named in a five-count indictment on Nov. 3, 2021. Gutierrez-Guerra pleaded guilty to all five counts on May 16, 2022. Perez-Arita pleaded guilty to count one, conspiracy to import methamphetamine, and was in November 2025 to 292 months in federal prison with credit for time served since Oct. 4, 2021. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case under Operation Take Back America.

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  1. Version 120 Aug 2026, 13:18current

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