OPERATION SPEED RACER

Mexican Drug Cartel Leader Tied To Local “Operation Speed Racer” Pleads Guilty

July 13, 2023

KVRR Staff,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — The lieutenant for a Mexican Drug Cartel pleads guilty in Fargo to leading a major drug trafficking enterprise. 45-year-old Juan Sillas-Rocha of Tijuana also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in furtherance of the enterprise. He was indicted by a North Dakota grand jury way back in 2011. In September of last year after 11…

Man Convicted in “Operation Speed Racer” Loses Appeal

The killing was tied to a violent cartel based in Tijuana, Mexico

March 9, 2017

TJ Nelson,

EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. — A man convicted of murder in a North Dakota drug conspiracy case tied to a major Mexican cartel has lost his appeal. Gabriel Martinez had claimed that his lawyers did a poor job and one of them was too chummy with Federal Judge Ralph Erickson. He sentenced Martinez to life in prison in 2008…