DOJ announces conviction in Minnesota meth ring linked to Sinaloa cartel
A fifth defendant has been convicted in a sweeping Minnesota meth trafficking conspiracy tied to Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Eric Anthony Rodriguez, 47, was found guilty in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after a six-day trial before Judge Susan R. Nelson.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez was part of the "Diaz-Aguilar Drug Trafficking Organization," which operated across Minnesota from April 2024 to March 2025.
The organization moved massive shipments of meth, sometimes hundreds of pounds at a time, into the state, according to prosecutors. The organization was led by Erick Emilio Diaz-Aguilar, 33, who previously pleaded guilty, along with co-defendants Juan Martin Elvira Jr., 36, Edward Gonzalez, 30, and Bruce Michael Orton, 44.
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During a nearly yearlong investigation, law enforcement seized about 60 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills and more than $20,000 in cash. Authorities also raided stash houses in Columbia Heights, Hastings and Rochester.
In November 2025, officers stopped Rodriguez in a coordinated traffic operation and recovered three pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle. Trial evidence showed he had received dozens more pounds for distribution, prosecutors said.
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Federal authorities said the trafficking network was affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel, a Mexican transnational criminal organization long tied to major drug operations in the United States.
Rodriguez will be sentenced at a later date.