A significant legal development has emerged in Minnesota as a fifth individual has been convicted in connection with an extensive methamphetamine trafficking operation linked to Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa Cartel. This announcement came from federal prosecutors on Tuesday, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle against drug trafficking in the region.
Eric Anthony Rodriguez, aged 47, stood trial in the U.S. District Court where he faced charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute the same substance. After a six-day trial presided over by Judge Susan R. Nelson, Rodriguez was found guilty, further unraveling the intricate web of the drug trafficking ring.
Authorities have detailed that Rodriguez played a significant role within the “Diaz-Aguilar Drug Trafficking Organization.” This group had been active in Minnesota from April 2024 until its operations were dismantled in March 2025, moving substantial quantities of methamphetamine into the state, often in shipments weighing hundreds of pounds.
The organization was spearheaded by Erick Emilio Diaz-Aguilar, 33, who, alongside other key figures Juan Martin Elvira Jr., 36, Edward Gonzalez, 30, and Bruce Michael Orton, 44, had already entered guilty pleas in the case. These admissions have been instrumental in the efforts to disrupt the group’s operations.
Throughout a nearly yearlong investigation, law enforcement officials confiscated approximately 60 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills, and over $20,000 in cash. This extensive probe also led to raids on several stash houses located in Columbia Heights, Hastings, and Rochester, further crippling the network’s infrastructure.
During a nearly yearlong investigation, law enforcement seized about 60 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,500 fentanyl pills and more than $20,000 in cash. Authorities also raided stash houses in Columbia Heights, Hastings and Rochester.
The exterior of the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Kerem Yucel / AFP via Getty Images, File)
In November 2025, officers stopped Rodriguez in a coordinated traffic operation and recovered three pounds of methamphetamine from his vehicle. Trial evidence showed he had received dozens more pounds for distribution, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors secured a guilty verdict for Rodriguez after a six-day trial. (iStock)
Federal authorities said the trafficking network was affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel, a Mexican transnational criminal organization long tied to major drug operations in the United States.
Rodriguez will be sentenced at a later date.
