Overview
- Vicente Carrillo Fuentes appeared in Brooklyn federal court for a brief interim hearing as plea negotiations with U.S. prosecutors continue.
- U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack scheduled a follow-up hearing for April 28 at 11 a.m. to assess progress on a potential guilty plea.
- Carrillo, 63, faces four federal counts: cocaine trafficking, organized crime, firearms possession, and money laundering, according to a grand jury indictment.
- Defense lawyer Rubén Oliva represented Carrillo, prosecutors Erik Paulsen and Katherine Onyshko and HSI agents attended, and the judge required information on any potential conflict tied to Oliva’s representation.
- Transferred to U.S. custody on February 27, 2025 with more than 20 other inmates, Carrillo is accused of leading a 1997–2014 operation moving Colombian cocaine through the Ciudad Juárez–El Paso corridor into U.S. cities.