BREAKING: Kash Patel and Pam Bondi FINALLY Announce Massive Arrest
Federal prosecutors have secured another major conviction in a sweeping drug trafficking case tied to one of Mexico’s most notorious criminal syndicates, underscoring what officials describe as a renewed federal commitment to crushing cartel-linked operations inside the United States.
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that 47-year-old Eric Anthony Rodriguez has been convicted in U.S. District Court for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The verdict followed a six-day trial before Judge Susan R. Nelson.
According to federal prosecutors, Rodriguez was a participant in the so-called “Diaz-Aguilar Drug Trafficking Organization,” a network that operated across Minnesota from April 2024 through March 2025. Authorities say the organization moved staggering quantities of methamphetamine into the state, at times trafficking shipments weighing hundreds of pounds.
The criminal enterprise was allegedly headed by 33-year-old Erick Emilio Diaz-Aguilar, who previously pleaded guilty. Other co-defendants include Juan Martin Elvira Jr., 36; Edward Gonzalez, 30; and Bruce Michael Orton, 44.
Over the course of an investigation lasting nearly a year, law enforcement officers seized approximately 60 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills, and more than $20,000 in cash. Raids were executed on stash houses in Columbia Heights, Hastings, and Rochester as authorities methodically dismantled the distribution network.
Rodriguez himself was arrested in November 2025 during a planned traffic stop. Agents recovered three pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle. Trial evidence revealed he had allegedly taken possession of additional multi-pound quantities intended for redistribution throughout the region.
Federal officials have linked the trafficking organization to the Sinaloa cartel, a powerful Mexican transnational criminal organization long associated with large-scale narcotics operations inside the United States. Rodriguez now awaits sentencing.
The conviction comes amid what federal law enforcement leaders are calling a banner month for the Department of Justice and the FBI under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States, and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
FBI Director Kash Patel recently pointed to what he described as record-setting performance during his first year leading the bureau. Speaking on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Patel highlighted a dramatic uptick in arrests of fugitives on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
Host Sean Hannity noted that six Ten Most Wanted fugitives had been captured within a single year — compared to just four apprehensions over the prior administration’s four-year tenure.
Patel attributed the difference to a structural shift in priorities, explaining that the FBI deployed roughly 1,000 additional agents into field assignments with a concentrated focus on violent criminals and fugitives.
The milestone followed the January arrest of Alejandro Rosales Castillo, a Ten Most Wanted fugitive accused of the 2016 murder of 23-year-old Truc Quan Sandy Ly Le. Her body was discovered in a wooded area in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
State authorities had filed charges in Mecklenburg County in November 2016, including first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle. A federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was later issued in February 2017.
Patel credited President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and international law enforcement partners for the coordinated effort that led to Castillo’s capture.
The FBI also made headlines in late January after announcing the arrest of nearly 50 members and associates of the Latin Kings street gang in a sweeping, multi-state crackdown known as “Operation Broken Crown.”
The three-month operation, launched in October 2025, brought together more than a dozen FBI field offices along with federal, state, local, and tribal partners. Authorities seized more than a dozen firearms, nearly $200,000 in illicit proceeds, and over 10 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl, and other narcotics.
Patel signaled that such enforcement efforts will continue at an accelerated pace.
“Under President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, this FBI is dismantling violent gang networks in America at a record clip — breaking their operations and saving lives in the process,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The message from federal law enforcement is clear: cartel-linked trafficking rings and violent gangs operating on American soil are being systematically targeted and dismantled as part of a broader effort to restore law and order.