Son Of Mexican Cartel Member Sentenced To 13+ Years In Prison After Tri-Cities Drug Bust

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from Tri-City Herald 

WRITTEN BY: ANNE CARY

Brian Jesus Zazueta was arrested at a Kennewick apartment that had 42,300 fentanyl pills, 461 grams of methamphetamine and 338 grams of heroin. U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington

KENNEWICK, WA A 23-year-old man arrested in a Kennewick apartment that had 42,300 fentanyl pills was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years and four months in federal prison. Brian Jesus Zazueta, 23, is the son of Adolfo Zazueta-Bueno, a significant member of the Sinaloa cartel, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. “The defendant (Zazueta) comes from a large, prestigious family of drug dealers,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Baunsgard in court documents. Zazueta-Bueno, formerly of Pasco, is a fugitive from justice in Eastern Washington now living in Sinaloa, Mexico, according to the prosecution.

His son, Zazueta, of Sunnyside, is described in court documents as a mid-level manager of a drug trafficking organization out of Mexico that was responsible for distributing drugs across Eastern Washington, including Spokane.

The prosecution described him as a leader and organizer for his father’s operation.

Zazueta would discuss quantities and prices and then dispatch drug couriers from the Tri-Cities to deliver orders of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, according to court documents.

He talked to his father nearly every day and updated him on Eastern Washington business one witness told the prosecution, according to court documents. Another witness described Zazueta as the “right-hand man” of his father because he had dual United States and Mexico citizenship and could easily travel back and forth between the United States and Mexico, according to court documents. His father appeared to replace Zazueta’s uncle Cesar Bueno-Martinez, who was recently killed in Mexico, as a member of the Sinaloa cartel, Baunsgard said in court documents. Several of Zazueta’s siblings and cousins are running their own hotlines of drug distribution into Eastern Washington sourced by the Bueno family, accourding to Baunsgard. “The adage for the last decade is that there is not a drug case her in the EDWA (Eastern District of Washington) that does not involve ‘Bueno dope,’” Baunsgard said in court documents. When the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that Zazueta was likely staying at a Kennewick stash house, it fast-tracked its investigation to arrest him before he returned to Mexico, Baunsgard said. They arrested him at an apartment at 3030 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick, March 9, 2023.

Brian Jesus Zazueta was arrested at a Kennewick apartment that had 42,300 fentanyl pills, 461 grams of methamphetamine and 338 grams of heroin. U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington

 He and another defendant, Jesus Armenta-Higuera, were in the apartment. The DEA also found 42,300 fentanyl pills, 461 grams of methamphetamine and 338 grams of heroin.

Zazueta pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in a plea agreement that included dropping charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin. Zazueta’s attorney asked U.S. Judge Thomas Rice in Spokane for a sentence of 12 years, saying that his client is ashamed of his part in the drug trade. The prosecution asked for a sentence of 15 years. In addition to sentencing Zazueta to 13 years and four months, the judge also sentenced him to five years probation. “Mr. Zazueta sowed the seeds of despair in Eastern Washington while he reaped the profits of his methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin distribution,” said David Reames, special agent in charge at the DEA Seattle Field Division. “... the sentence in this case should make others pause before selling drugs that harm our communities.” 

This story was originally published October 31, 2024, 12:29 PM.

SOURCE: TRI-CITY HERALD, BORDERLAND BEAT