Presunto narcotraficante extraditado a San Diego en relación con túnel fronterizo de 2022
Foto: Archivo Tijuanapress.com
Un hombre acusado de dirigir una operación de narcotráfico transfronteriza compareció ante un tribunal federal tras ser extraditado desde México, según informó la Fiscalía de Estados Unidos para el Distrito Sur de California.
Genaro López, de 54 años, se declaró inocente de cargos de conspiración para distribuir e importar sustancias controladas según informó la fiscalía federal el pasado lunes 13 de julio mediante un comunicado. El juez magistrado estadounidense Daniel E. Butcher ordenó que permaneciera detenido sin derecho a fianza, por considerarlo un riesgo de fuga, indicaron los fiscales.
Según registros judiciales citados por la Fiscalía, Lopez, ciudadano estadounidense, presuntamente operaba una casa de resguardo en Chula Vista hasta que un cateo realizado en julio de 2021 arrojó un decomiso de 241 kilogramos de cocaína, ocho armas de fuego y cerca de 40,000 dólares en efectivo. Lopez huyó a México después del operativo y fue arrestado allí en marzo, a solicitud de las autoridades estadounidenses.
Los fiscales también alegan que Lopez utilizó un sofisticado túnel —descubierto en mayo de 2022 y que corría desde Tijuana hasta una bodega en Otay Mesa— para introducir drogas, entre ellas cocaína, metanfetamina y fentanilo, a Estados Unidos.
Cuatro empleados vinculados a la operación de Chula Vista y cinco personas relacionadas con el caso del túnel se han declarado culpables, señalaron los fiscales. Uno permanece prófugo.
La próxima audiencia de Lopez está programada para el 14 de agosto. La Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia colaboró para lograr su extradición.
Para la elaboración de esta nota se utilizaron herramientas de Inteligencia Artificial.
A continuación se reproduce íntegramente el boletín oficial relacionado con esta nota.
Press Release
Alleged Drug Trafficker with Connections to 2022 Drug Tunnel Extradited to San Diego from Mexico
Monday, July 13, 2026Share 
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California
SAN DIEGO – Genaro Lopez was arraigned in federal court today following his extradition from Mexico Friday in connection with allegations that he moved cocaine and other drugs into the United States via a sophisticated tunnel discovered in 2022.
At the hearing, the defendant entered a not guilty plea to drug trafficking charges. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Butcher granted the government’s request to hold Lopez without bond on grounds that he posed a serious risk of flight from prosecution.
According to court records, Lopez, who is a United States citizen, was a powerful drug trafficker operating on both sides of the border. Prior to July 2021, Lopez operated from the United States out of a stash house in Chula Vista, until July 9, 2021, when investigators stopped three cars leaving the stash house with drugs and executed a search warrant. Authorities seized 241 kilograms of cocaine, eight guns (including two ghost guns), a bulletproof vest, ammunition, high-capacity magazines, and close to $40,000 in cash.
Lopez was not present at the search; he fled to Mexico after the search and remained a fugitive until his recent arrest in Mexico on March 10 at the request of the United States. Four of Lopez’s employees were arrested and charged with drug trafficking crimes and have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
The United States also alleges that Lopez used a cross-border tunnel discovered in 2022 to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States. Investigators discovered the tunnel on May 12, 2022, while surveilling a second stash house in National City. Authorities stopped four cars leaving the stash house and during subsequent searches of the house and cars, investigators seized close to 800 kilograms of cocaine, 74.8 kilograms (163 pounds) of methamphetamine, and 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) of fentanyl. For more information, please see this link.
Beneath the warehouse, they discovered a tunnel from Tijuana to a warehouse in Otay Mesa that was estimated to be about 1,744 feet long, 61 feet deep and 4-feet in diameter, with reinforced walls, a rail system, electricity and a ventilation system. Six people were arrested in that case; five have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced while one other fled while awaiting sentencing and remains a fugitive.
Lopez’s next court appearance for motion hearing and trial setting is scheduled for August 14 before U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Benjamin and Lawrence Casper. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Genaro Lopez.
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
DEFENDANT Case Number 24cr681-LL
Genaro Lopez Age: 54 Tijuana, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance- – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 841 and 846
Maximum penalty: Life in prison
Conspiracy to Import a Controlled Substance- – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 952, 960, and 963
Maximum penalty: Life in prison
PREVIOUS DEFENDANTS AND SENTENCES
22-CR-01697-LL
Soukha Phimpasouk 48 months
Gabriel Ali Ruelas 70 months
Kevin Omar Carbajal 30 months
Josselyn Paige Smitko 345 days
22-CR-1169-LL
Juan Cruz 24 months
Mario Jaramillo 27 months
Manuel Perez-Herrera Fugitive
Vanessa Ramirez 120 months
Luz de Luna Olmos 92 days
Adrian Enriquez 120 months
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Homeland Security Investigations
San Diego Sheriff’s Department
This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF San Diego comprises agents and officers from FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, Department of Defense, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and INTERPOL, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
Contact
Kelly Thornton, Director of Media Relations