Juan Francisco Sillas-Rocha (Cass County Jail)
FARGO (KFGO) – Nearly two dozen current and former investigators from around the country filled the benches of a Fargo courtroom Thursday morning to hear the final defendant plead guilty in what was a nearly 20-year probe into the violent and murderous activity of one of Mexico’s major drug cartels inside the United States.
Juan Francisco Sillas-Rocha was a notorious hitman and top lieutenant for the Arellano Felix cartel. He was arrested in Tijuana in 2011 and extradited to North Dakota last fall to face charges on three counts: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, and conspiracy to commit murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. Each of the charges carries with it a maximum life sentence and millions of dollars in fines. The mandatory minimum for the continuing criminal enterprise count is life in prison.
Prosecutors say the Felix cartel smuggled cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drugs into the U.S. for decades, and that Sillas-Rocha – also known as “Ruedas” or “Wheels” – was one of its primary enforcers. He once boasted to authorities that he killed up to 30 people a month during the gang’s prime in Tijuana.
Investigators in North Dakota began gathering incriminating evidence on the Felix cartel after one of its members killed a man over a drug debt in 2005. Jorge “Sneaky” Arandas arranged a 10-pound shipment of methamphetamine into the United States. Five pounds landed in Washington state and 5 pounds were delivered to an East Grand Forks man, Lee Avila, at the West Acres Mall. Avila failed to pay for the drugs and members of the Arandas organization murdered Avila in June of that year, shooting him nine times in the presence of two small children.
Arandas, the initial target in what became known as Operation Speed Racer, pled guilty to 13 federal counts and received a 40-year sentence after cooperating with authorities. Arandas said Sillas-Rocha gave him an extension to pay for the drugs after Avila was killed.
In February of 2011, prosecutors say Sillas-Rocha ordered two more people killed in San Diego. Sillas-Rocha’s brother Jorge Sillas and two other men were convicted for their roles in those murders.
In all, Operation Speed Racer included 66 defendants and led to 18 indictments over the course of the 19-year investigation, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Myers told the court had come to a conclusion with the three pleas of guilty by Sillas-Rocha, who spoke only in Spanish through an interpreter at the federal courthouse in Fargo on Thursday morning. Former investigators on the case traveled from as far away as Arizona and California to attend the culmination of their efforts.
“This defendant’s criminal activities may have started in another country, but they had an impact on public safety right here in North Dakota and in the Red River Valley,” said U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider. “After 19 years of dogged work and determination and perserverence by assistant U.S. Attorneys and their partners in law enforcement, it’s fitting that Mr. Sillas-Rocha faces justice in a courtroom here in Fargo. It is a hugely positive result and a real credit to their cooperation and determination.”
Sillas-Rocha is expected to be formally sentenced sometime in early 2024.
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