PHOENIX – The leader of a group of sicarios (cartel hitmen), Jorge Adan Garcia Martinez, was sentenced on in August to 130 months in prison after pleading guilty to Aiding and Abetting the Receipt of Firearms for Use in a Drug Trafficking Crime.
According to the Department of Justice, Between April 2023 and November 4, 2024, Juan Carlos Yanez Molina, 27, of Somerton, Arizona, Jonathan Daniel Hernandez Noriega, 25, of San Luis, Arizona, Jose Guadalupe Cota Garcia, 25, of Mexico, and Roani Hernandez Jr., 27, of Bullhead City, Arizona, straw purchased firearms from federal firearms licensees in the Yuma area for Garcia Martinez.
On June 21, 2024, Garcia Martinez coordinated the delivery of five pistols and magazines to Carlos Eduardo Diaz-Barba, 21, of San Luis, Arizona. Diaz-Barba then tried to smuggle the pistols and magazines into Mexico at the port of entry in San Luis, Arizona on Garcia Martinez’s behalf. The investigation revealed that the firearms were destined for Los Salazares, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Electronic evidence showed that Garcia Martinez was the leader of Fuerzas Especiales Jackson, a group of sicarios operating in San Luis, Sonora, Mexico. The group carried out kidnappings, torture, and murders. Garcia Martinez was arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after law enforcement discovered his plan to retaliate against a rival group for an attack in San Luis, Sonora, that killed and injured members of his group. Garcia Martinez’s arrest disrupted a firearms trafficking cell operating in the Yuma area, and dismantled a group of sicarios operating in San Luis, Sonora.
Yanez Molina, Hernandez Noriega, Cota Garcia, and Hernandez Jr. were all previously convicted of Material False Statements During the Acquisition of Firearms. Yanez Molina was sentenced to 18 months in prison, Hernandez Noriega was sentenced to 36 months in prison, Cota Garcia was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and Hernandez was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
Diaz-Barba pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting the Receipt of Firearms for Use in a Drug Trafficking Crime. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 31, 2026, before United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa.
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