FEDERAL JURY IN SAN ANTONIO CONVICTS LOS ZETAS ASSOCIATE IN DRUG

DISTRIBUTION AND KIDNAPPING SCHEME

Los Zetas associate and Eagle Pass, TX, resident Jose Luis Rodriguez (a.k.a. “Pollo”), age 36, faces up to life in

federal prison after a jury in San Antonio convicted him this afternoon of federal kidnapping and drug charges

announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse, San

Antonio Division, and Acting Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Steven S. Whipple,

Houston Division.

The jury convicted Rodriguez of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, three

substantive counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of conspiracy to kidnap.

Evidence presented during trial revealed that from September 2006 until April 2007, Rodriguez and others

conspired to distribute more than 1,600 kilograms of cocaine from Mexico through Eagle Pass and transported

it to San Antonio then ultimately to Cleveland, OH; Memphis, TN; Saginaw, MI; and, New York, NY. During

the course of the investigation, authorities seized a total of approximately 113 kilograms of cocaine and in

excess of $2 million in drug proceeds attributed to Rodriguez and his co-conspirators.

Evidence also revealed that Rodriguez and others conspired in early 2007 to unlawfully kidnap an Eagle Pass

resident and hold him hostage in Piedras Negras, Mexico, for the purpose of collecting money and property in

order to satisfy an illegal drug debt owed by the Eagle Pass resident.

Rodriguez, who was arrested in Mexico on a provisional arrest warrant and extradited to the U.S. last year,

remains in federal custody. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21, 2014, before United States District Judge

Royce C. Lamberth.

This case was investigated by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement

Administration.