KC man caught with 102 pounds of crystal meth is convicted of funding Mexican cartel
A Mexican national living in Kansas City has pleaded guilty to selling drugs and using the profits to fund a cartel that has been designated a foreign terrorist organization.
According to court documents, Jose C. Valencia-Soriano, 34, admitted to providing money and other resources to Cárteles Unidos, or United Cartels, a transnational criminal and drug trafficking organization that controls large areas of Michoacán, Mexico.
Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri say Valencia-Soriano obtained large shipments of methamphetamine, often concealed in liquids, from cartel members. He then extracted the drugs from the liquid, sold it for profit, and conspired to use the money to fund Cárteles Unidos in Mexico and elsewhere.
The cartel sells drugs in the U.S. to fund its purchase of weapons and hire armed fighters and mercenaries, according to investigators. Cartels equipped with high-powered weapons and fighters have resulted in civilian, military and law enforcement casualties.
Valencia-Soriano’s contributions to the cartel took place between at least Feb. 20 and March 27, 2025, prosecutors say.
In February last year, investigators executed a search warrant at Valencia-Soriano’s Kansas City home. Inside, they found 102 pounds of crystal methamphetamine. They also found roughly 460 pounds of a liquid mixture containing methamphetamine, according to court records.
Two different areas inside Valencia-Soriano’s home are presumed to have been used for processing the drugs, prosecutors say. Three firearms and more than $48,0000 in cash was also found in the home.
Valencia-Soriano allegedly told investigators he intended to transfer the money to Mexico to further fund cartel operations.
Under federal statutes, Valencia-Soriano could receive up to 20 years in prison without parole, if convicted. His sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Prosecutors say Valencia-Soriano’s case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
The task force, made up of various law enforcement agencies, targets criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
