Overview
- Judge Anthony J. Trenga in Alexandria, Virginia, imposed a five‑year prison term on Dámaso López Serrano and ordered an additional period of federal supervised release.
- López Serrano was arrested in December 2024 in an FBI undercover operation that arranged a controlled sale tied to roughly three kilograms of fentanyl while he was under U.S. supervision.
- He pleaded guilty in May 2025 to a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and signed a new cooperation agreement with U.S. prosecutors.
- Mexico’s longstanding extradition request—alleging he ordered the 2017 murder of journalist Javier Valdez—remains active, and U.S. coverage notes the new conviction could influence whether he is transferred.
- The Sinaloa cartel figure and son of Dámaso López Núñez previously cooperated with the DEA after a 2018 narcotics conviction and was released to supervised status in 2022 before reoffending.