International Drug Trafficking

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation criminal defense firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 40 years of combined experience defending federal drug cases throughout the United States. If you’re researching international drug trafficking, you’re probably facing charges involving drugs that crossed international borders, or you’re trying to understand how federal prosecutors build cases against international trafficking networks. International trafficking cases are the most serious drug prosecutions the federal government brings – they involve multi-jurisdictional investigations, cooperation between U.S. and foreign law enforcement agencies, extradition proceedings, and charges under 21 U.S.C. § 960 for importation of controlled substances, which carry the same mandatory minimums as domestic trafficking but with additional complexity. What makes international cases particularly challenging is that prosecutors build them over years using wiretaps, confidential sources in multiple countries, financial records from foreign banks, and testimony from cooperating defendants who faced extradition. If you’re charged in an international trafficking case, you need lawyers who understand how these investigations work and how to challenge evidence gathered across borders.

Major International Trafficking Routes

Cocaine trafficking operates through established routes from South American production to U.S. and European markets. Colombian cocaine moves through Central America and Mexico before entering the United States, controlled primarily by the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The route typically flows from FARC dissident groups in Colombia to Guatemalan organizations like Los Huistas, then to Mexican cartels who manage final smuggling into the United States. The Caribbean has become an increasingly important transshipment point, with criminal organizations exploiting weak governance and corruption in island nations to move cocaine toward European markets where prices are significantly higher than in the United States. Federal prosecutors charge defendants at every point along these routes – not just the cartel leaders in Mexico or Colombia, but also warehouse operators in Guatemala, boat captains in the Caribbean, and distributors receiving shipments in Miami, Houston, or Los Angeles.

Fentanyl trafficking follows different routes because it’s synthetic rather than plant-based. Chinese chemical companies export precursor chemicals to Mexico, where Sinaloa and CJNG cartels operate manufacturing labs that produce fentanyl. The finished product is smuggled into the United States, primarily through ports of entry where vehicles driven by U.S. citizens carry concealed fentanyl. In 2025, federal investigators discovered that Mexican cartels established fentanyl synthesis labs in Canada, opening a northern smuggling route that prosecutors are now targeting. Methamphetamine follows similar synthetic drug routes, with precursor chemicals sourced from China and manufacturing occurring in Mexican cartel labs before smuggling into the United States. The synthetic nature of these drugs means they can be manufactured anywhere with access to precursor chemicals and laboratory equipment, which complicates interdiction efforts that historically focused on crop eradication in source countries.

How Federal Prosecutors Build International Cases

International trafficking investigations involve coordination between DEA, FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and law enforcement agencies in source and transit countries. These investigations often begin with drug seizures at the border or port of entry, which trigger backtracking investigations to identify suppliers, transportation networks, and financial flows. Federal agents use wiretaps authorized under Title III to intercept communications between co-conspirators in different countries. They work with foreign police to conduct surveillance, execute search warrants, and arrest foreign nationals who can be pressured to cooperate. Financial investigations trace money laundering through international banking systems, cryptocurrency exchanges, and trade-based money laundering schemes. By the time prosecutors file charges, they’ve typically built cases involving dozens of defendants across multiple countries, with evidence including intercepted communications, testimony from cooperating defendants, financial records, and drug seizures.

Extradition plays a major role in international cases. When Mexican cartel members or Colombian suppliers are arrested in their home countries, U.S. prosecutors seek extradition to face charges in federal court. Recent examples include Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was extradited and pled guilty in 2025, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, who pled guilty to drug conspiracy charges after extradition from Mexico. Extradited defendants face enormous pressure to cooperate because they’re already convicted in their home countries and facing decades more in U.S. prison. Federal prosecutors use this pressure to flip high-level cartel members into witnesses against others, creating cascading cooperation that dismantles entire trafficking networks.

Federal Charges in International Trafficking Cases

Importation charges under 21 U.S.C. § 960 apply when drugs are brought into the United States from foreign countries. These charges carry the same mandatory minimums as domestic distribution – 5 years for certain quantities, 10 years for higher amounts, 20 years to life when death results – but they demonstrate international scope that prosecutors use to argue for sentencing enhancements. Conspiracy charges under 21 U.S.C. § 846 allow prosecutors to charge everyone involved in the trafficking network, from Colombian producers to Mexican smugglers to U.S.-based distributors, even if many defendants never met each other and operated in different countries. Money laundering charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 target the financial infrastructure that moves drug proceeds back to cartels, charging defendants who operated currency exchanges, wire transfer businesses, or trade-based laundering schemes.

The 2025 designation of the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) created new prosecution authorities. While this designation doesnt change the underlying drug trafficking statutes, it allows prosecutors to charge material support for terrorism under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B if defendants provided financial services, transportation, or other support to designated cartels. These charges carry separate penalties and create additional pressure on defendants to cooperate. The FTO designation also expands asset forfeiture authorities and allows sanctions against individuals and businesses connected to cartels, which prosecutors use to dismantle financial networks supporting trafficking.

Defending International Trafficking Charges

International cases are difficult to defend because prosecutors have extensive resources and years of investigation before filing charges. But defenses exist. We challenge evidence obtained by foreign police under legal standards that wouldnt be permitted in the United States – warrantless searches, coerced confessions, due process violations in foreign jurisdictions. We file motions to suppress communications intercepted through foreign wiretaps that didnt comply with U.S. statutory requirements. We challenge extradition-based evidence when defendants were mistreated or denied rights during foreign prosecution. We negotiate cooperation agreements for defendants who have information about higher-level targets, arguing for substantial assistance departures that reduce sentences dramatically. We challenge drug quantity calculations in conspiracy cases, arguing you shouldnt be held responsible for the entire cartel’s drug shipments when your role was limited to specific transactions.

Why Spodek Law Group Handles International Cases

We’ve defended international drug trafficking cases involving multi-jurisdictional investigations, extradition proceedings, and complex conspiracy charges. We work with foreign counsel to investigate how evidence was obtained abroad and challenge constitutional violations. We negotiate cooperation agreements with federal prosecutors who want information about international networks. We fight sentencing enhancements for organizational role when clients were minor participants in larger operations. Todd Spodek has handled complex federal cases requiring deep investigation and aggressive advocacy. Contact Spodek Law Group for a consultation. We’re available 24/7.