Illinois man sentenced for laundering money for Mexico-based ring that trafficked meth in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS — An Illinois man who was laundering money for a Mexico-based drug trafficking ring was sentenced this week to nearly five years in federal prison.

Jose Eladio Medina Valenzuela, 45, of Cicero, Ill., pleaded in January in U.S. District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to a plea agreement, Medina Valenzuela admitted he worked with others to obtain proceeds from the trafficking of meth in Iowa and then transferred the cash to individuals in Mexico, who operated the drug trafficking ring from May to October of 2020.

Two drug traffickers distributed more than 100 pounds of meth in Iowa and they took a portion of that money — over $335,000 — to Medina Valenzuela in Illinois. Medina Valenzuela then worked with others to get the drug proceeds to supply sources in Mexico, the plea stated.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand sentenced Medina Valenzuela on Wednesday to 57 months in prison. He also ordered Medina Valenzuela to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term.

Medina Valenzuela remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is taken to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force — which includes Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Evandale, Waverly, Hudson, and La Porte police departments; Black Hawk and Bremer county sheriff’s offices; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Homeland Security Investigations.

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