Wenshen Xu, a Chinese citizen extradited from Guatemala, pleaded guilty before a United States court to conspiring to import cocaine, launder money from drug trafficking, and provide material support to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), it was reported this Tuesday, June 30.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Xu was facing criminal proceedings in the Federal Court of the Eastern District of Virginia for his alleged participation in a network dedicated to international drug trafficking and money laundering.
The investigation indicates that, between November 2023 and his capture in Guatemala City, on July 17, 2025, Xu and his co-conspirators used various clandestine methods to launder drug proceeds, including mirror transfers, encrypted communication applications, serial number verification systems, and currency exchange schemes.
According to court documents, Xu also conspired with people in the United States, Colombia and Honduras to smuggle shipments of several kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
Authorities indicated that, around July 17, 2025, Xu and others involved agreed to arrange the transportation of a shipment of cocaine from Cali, Colombia, for a person claiming to represent the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The US Government recalled that on February 20, 2025, it designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Xu was captured by Guatemalan authorities on July 17, 2025. at the request of the United States, yextradited on January 30, 2026 to face the judicial process.
The investigation was carried out by the Bilateral Investigations Unit of the Special Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with support from that agency’s Special Intelligence Office, its offices in Guatemala and Colombia, the National Civil Police of Guatemala and the National Police of Colombia.
The Department of Justice indicated that the Office of International Affairs, the Department of State and the United States Embassy in Guatemala collaborated to complete the capture and extradition of the accused.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
Chinese National Pleads GUILTY (in Homeland Security Task Force Investigation) to:
• Narcotics Trafficking
• Money Laundering
• Material Support to TerrorismRead more: https://t.co/iTa1sNapEz
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) June 30, 2026
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