NEWARK, N.J. — A 55-year-old Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine into New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said Wednesday.
Oscar Salvador Pelayo-Guzman, most recently of Kansas, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper to a one-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Prosecutors said Pelayo-Guzman is associated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and was a principal member of a drug trafficking organization based in Kansas City.
Beginning in January 2025, Pelayo-Guzman and others worked to move large amounts of cocaine into New Jersey, according to prosecutors. In April 2025, he arranged for about 20 kilograms of cocaine to be trucked from California to Newark in exchange for more than $300,000 in cash, prosecutors said.
Two co-defendants, Jose Manuel Amaya Villarreal and Reymond Alex Avina Samaniego, both of California, pleaded guilty earlier in the case. Amaya Villarreal was sentenced Aug. 7 to 57 months in prison. Avina Samaniego is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 9.
The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a fine of up to $10 million. Pelayo-Guzman is scheduled to be sentenced March 1, 2027.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, along with several New Jersey county and municipal police departments, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the office’s Trenton branch. It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Justice Department initiative.
Pelayo-Guzman is represented by Adalgiza A. Núñez of the Office of the Federal Public Defender. Perry Primavera represents Amaya Villarreal, and Joseph D. Rotella represents Avina Samaniego.
This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office press release
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