Chinese National Extradited from Guatemala to Face Charges of Narcotics Trafficking, Money Laundering and Material Support to Terrorism

Wenshen Xu, a Chinese national, was extradited from Guatemala to the United States yesterday to face an indictment returned in the Eastern District of Virginia charging him with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, launder money derived from drug trafficking and provide material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

According to court documents, beginning in at least Nov. 2023 and continuing until Xu was arrested in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on July 17, 2025, Xu and his co-conspirators allegedly used a variety of clandestine methods, including mirror transfers, encrypted communications applications, a serial-number verification system and trade-based money laundering to launder narcotics proceeds on behalf of transnational criminal organizations as well as funds represented to be narcotics proceeds. Xu also allegedly conspired with individuals in the United States and elsewhere, including Colombia, to smuggle multi-kilogram loads of cocaine into the United States. On or about July 17, 2025, Xu and others allegedly agreed to arrange and facilitate the transportation of a multi-kilogram load of cocaine out of Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual who claimed to represent the CJNG.

On Feb. 20, 2025, the CJNG was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224.

Xu was arrested by Guatemalan authorities on July 17, 2025 at the request of the United States, and was extradited to the United States on Jan. 30. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division made the announcement.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit, DEA’s offices in Guatemala and Colombia, the Colombian National Police, and the Guatemalan National Police.

The Justice Department extends its gratitude to the Government of Guatemala and its prosecutorial and law enforcement authorities for assisting with the extradition. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Guatemala.

Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christopher M. Carter for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.