Emmanuel Martimiano León Soto—a man originally from Mexico identified as a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel—was sentenced in the United States to 336 months (28 years) in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine hydrochloride, and to a concurrent term of 240 months (20 years) in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In November 2024, he was indicted—along with 37 other individuals—by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of North Carolina. The indictment included charges of conspiracy to distribute the aforementioned drugs and conspiracy to launder drug trafficking proceeds; he was one of the ten principal defendants in the case.
Prior to his formal indictment, León Soto was designated as a Regional Priority Target (RPT) under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program.
“He is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” states a report published on the U.S. Department of Justice website on May 1.
