The Narco Blog

$25,000 a Kilo in New York, $11,500 in San Diego: Manhattan Prosecutors Seek 92 Months for Los Chapitos Fentanyl Lab Operator Carlos Omar Félix Gutiérrez

By The Narco Blog · September 29, 2026 · Updated September 30, 2026

U.S. State Department and DEA reward poster showing a photo of Carlos Omar Félix Gutiérrez stamped CAPTURED, offering up to $1 million — A U.S. State Department and DEA reward poster for Carlos Omar Félix Gutiérrez, marked “captured” after his March 2023 arrest in Bogotá. This image is not from the sentencing hearing. Image: U.S. Department of State / DEA (public domain).

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have asked for a prison sentence of 92 months, or seven years and eight months, for Carlos Omar Félix Gutiérrez. They describe him as a Los Chapitos operator who helped make fentanyl in clandestine labs and quoted a DEA source prices of $25,000 a kilo in New York and $11,500 in San Diego. Infobae México reported on Sept. 29, 2026, that he was scheduled to be sentenced that day by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York.

A plea to a lesser charge

According to Infobae, Félix Gutiérrez originally faced six counts. On Jan. 21, 2026, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge: conspiracy to import at least 40 grams of fentanyl. Prosecutors also want four years of supervised release. Infobae reported that the U.S. Probation Office recommended 84 months and that the defense asked for the five-year mandatory minimum, citing difficult personal circumstances and good conduct during roughly three years in custody.

In their filing, prosecutors said Félix Gutiérrez was not a top leader like Iván Archivaldo and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, who face far more serious charges in the same case. But according to Infobae, they argued that this did not make his role minor. They said he took part directly in producing and selling fentanyl wholesale and was willing to trade drugs for guns. The labs he and his co-defendant were tied to processed chemical precursors from China, prosecutors said.

U.S. State Department and DEA reward poster showing a photo of Silvano Francisco Mariano stamped CAPTURED, offering up to $1 million — Co-defendant Silvano Francisco Mariano, “El Rayo,” on a State Department and DEA reward poster marked “captured.” Infobae reported he received 92 months in August. This image is not from either hearing. Image: U.S. Department of State / DEA (public domain).

The DEA sting that ended in Bogotá

The prosecution’s account, as reported by Infobae, begins on Oct. 6, 2022. That day, a confidential DEA source identified as “CS-1” recorded a meeting with Félix Gutiérrez in Mexico, where he offered fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine and said he had routes to U.S. cities. On Oct. 10 he gave the New York and San Diego prices. On Nov. 3, he and Silvano Francisco Mariano, “El Rayo,” met the source in Mexico City to discuss more shipments and weapons.

On Jan. 17, 2023, prosecutors say, the pair arranged delivery of one kilo of fentanyl in San Diego. The DEA paid the agreed $11,500 and seized the drugs. Colombian agents arrested both men on March 16, 2023, after they got off a flight from Mexico in Bogotá.

A case that reaches Sinaloa’s governor

The case, No. 1:23-cr-00180, covers dozens of alleged Los Chapitos members and associates. According to Infobae, charges were later added in the same case against Rubén Rocha Moya, Sinaloa’s governor on leave, and other current and former Sinaloa officials. Those charges remain allegations. The 92-month figure is only a request, and the judge sets the final sentence.

Sources

Reported Sept. 29, 2026, from Infobae México’s account of the prosecution’s sentencing filing and from State Department reward records. When this was published, no outcome of the scheduled hearing had been reported. Everything about the defendants’ conduct is as described by prosecutors.