Mexican woman sentenced to prison after recruiting drivers for meth cartel in El Paso

A Mexican woman who recruited drivers for the Jalisco New Generation cartel has been sentenced to 20 years and five months in prison in El Paso, Texas, for her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, 43-year-old Karla Adriana Votta-Cardenas – also known as “Adriana,” “Samantha” and “Sophia” of Juárez, Mexico – worked for the drug trafficking organization led by Jorge Sanchez Morales. The case primarily involved the trafficking of methamphetamine, according to a Justice Department press release.

Sanchez Morales was sentenced to life in prison on April 6, 2023. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, an El Paso jury found him guilty on November 8, 2022, of conspiracy to import and possess cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, conspiracy to commit international money laundering, and money laundering. He was sentenced to life in prison for the drug conspiracies and 20 years for the conspiracy and money laundering counts. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Authorities said the cartel imported liquid methamphetamine from Juárez to El Paso, across the Rio Grande, and then transported it to Atlanta hidden in the fuel tanks of semi-trailers.

Once in Atlanta, the drug was converted into a crystalline form and then distributed.

According to authorities, Sanchez Morales oversaw the operation on behalf of the cartel.

The press release said Votta-Cardenas recruited for the cartel on a large scale, recruiting drivers through job advertisements on social media. Authorities said she recruited more than 20 drivers but did not tell them they would be dealing drugs.

She was arrested by Mexican authorities and extradited to the United States on November 1, 2023, the press release said.

The US Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Jaime Esparza, announced the verdict.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Spitzer and Nathan Brown.