The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that six individuals from Volusia County had been sentenced to federal prison for transporting what authorities say were military-grade weapons to drug gangs in Mexico.
According to Velazquez Delgado’s agreed plea deal, prosecutors claimed that the 34-year-old DeLand resident helped five other DeLand residents in buying high-caliber firearms and reselling them to the La Familia and La Nueva Generacion cartels. According to court documents, the six were sentenced over a period of several months, with the final one being handed down on Wednesday.
According to the plea deal, the individuals trafficked imported cocaine in Volusia and received payment in cash and illegal drugs. They would use money directly provided by the cartels or proceeds from the sale of drugs to buy weaponry. Velazquez Delgado eventually had the other guys buy the firearms for him after first buying them himself.
In the DOJ statement, Kirk Howard, special agent in charge for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, guns and Explosives’ Tampa Field Division, stated that breaking up this guns trafficking organization centered in Central Florida is a major victory for public safety in both Mexico and America.
He claimed that because of this collaborative team, the infamously violent transnational criminal organization known as the CJNG [C rtel de Jalisco Nueva Generaci n], which has been classified as a foreign terrorist organization, now has less fuel for its violent criminal activities.
According to the release, Velazquez Delgado received a term of nine years in prison, while the other five received sentences ranging from 18 to 46 months.
About 11 Barrett.50 caliber rifles were trafficked by the ring. These rifles can fire a very precise, heavy, and swift projectile that can penetrate and disable vehicles, airplanes, and boats, as well as overcome some forms of armored vehicle protection. The publication claims that the cartels are actively pursuing those rifles in their attempts to seize vast swaths of territory.
According to the announcement, Mexican police were able to verify that at least one of the smuggled firearms was in Mexico through the eTrace Firearm Recovery Notification Program.
In Zitacuaro, Michoacan, Mexico, on March 22, 2023, alleged members of the C rtel de Jalisco Nueva Generaci n engaged in gunfire with Mexican State Police and Mexican military forces. The gunfight resulted in the deaths of two people. According to the report, a Barrett model 82A1.50 caliber rifle that one of the ring members had bought in 2022 was found after the incident.
According to Velazquez Delgado’s plea deal, the men were the subject of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms after two of them attempted to buy Barrett.50 caliber rifles from a registered firearms dealer in Okaloosa County. The proprietor thought they were trying to buy on Velazquez Delgado’s behalf, as the store had recently declined to sell him the weapon because he had previously bought multiples.
According to the agreement, Velazquez Delgado’s cellphone was confiscated by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in May 2023 at a Mexican-to-U.S. border crossing. Messages, audio, and images associated with the trafficking operation were discovered, including one involving a known commander in the La Nueva Generacion cartel.
