GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – A Mexican national twice deported from the U.S. was sentenced to about 14 years in federal prison for leading a cocaine trafficking conspiracy and illegally re-entering the country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin said.
Ruben Salgado-Espinoza, 51, was sentenced April 14, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Byron B. Conway to 169 months (roughly 14 years) in prison.
Prosecutors said Salgado-Espinoza ran a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, operating out of a compound in Rockford, Illinois. Court records say he received bulk cocaine shipments from a source in Mexico and modified vehicles with sophisticated hidden compartments—often called “trap cars”—to conceal and transport drugs. Authorities said he also sold those vehicles to other drug distributors…