Claimed Ties to ‘Multiple Drug Cartels,’ Then Fled to Mexico: El Paso, Texas, Man Convicted on 3 Fentanyl Counts After Mexican Authorities Sent Him Back
A federal jury in El Paso, Texas, has convicted Charles Arellano, 45, of El Paso on three fentanyl trafficking counts. During a fentanyl deal in January 2025, prosecutors said, he claimed connections to multiple drug cartels. He then fled to Mexico, where authorities caught him and sent him back. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced the verdict, and KFOX14 and KVIA reported it on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026.
What prosecutors said at trial
According to court documents and trial evidence, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was investigating Arellano as an alleged fentanyl dealer, KFOX14 reported. During a fentanyl transaction in January 2025, prosecutors said, Arellano claimed he had connections to multiple drug cartels and had long been involved in drug trafficking. The coverage does not name any cartel, and it does not say whether investigators confirmed his claimed ties. The reports also do not say how much fentanyl the case involved.
Caught in Mexico, returned to Texas
Arellano fled to Mexico in early 2025, KVIA reported. Mexican authorities arrested him in June 2025 and returned him to the United States to face prosecution. A grand jury indicted him in July 2025 together with a co-defendant, Yvonne Beltran-Leyva. The reports describe no link between her and any cartel. She pleaded guilty in October 2025, and in April she was sentenced to 108 months, or nine years, in federal prison for her role in the fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, according to both stations.
What happens next
Arellano faces five to 40 years in federal prison, and no sentencing date has been set, KFOX14 and KVIA reported. The jury’s verdict is a conviction on the three counts. His claim of cartel connections remains what prosecutors said he told others during the January 2025 deal, not a finding that he worked for any cartel. For more on cartel activity and crossing conditions at this border, see our Juárez–El Paso safety page.
Sources
- KFOX14/CBS4: “Federal jury convicts El Paso man in fentanyl trafficking case; had connections to cartels” (Oct. 8, 2026)
- KVIA ABC-7: “El Paso man convicted of fentanyl trafficking after DEA investigation” (Oct. 8, 2026)
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas: “Federal jury convicts El Paso man for fentanyl trafficking”
- Photo: Dimples915, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Reported Oct. 10, 2026, from KFOX14 and KVIA coverage of the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement. The coverage does not name the cartels Arellano claimed ties to, the amount of fentanyl involved, or the judge. Arellano has not yet been sentenced.