CHICAGO — A Chicago man who smuggled five firearms and more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition into Mexico has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. Two of the smuggled firearms were allegedly “straw purchased” by a Chicago Police Officer. In the fall of 2024, DIEGO VALDEZ and Chicago Police Officer KEVIN RODRIGUEZ schemed for Rodriguez to purchase an AR-15 style rifle on Valdez’s behalf from a firearms dealer in Indiana. A few days later, Rodriguez purchased a handgun for Valdez in Illinois. Valdez had identified which firearms he wanted and paid Rodriguez to buy them. Valdez then smuggled the straw-purchased firearms and three other guns, along with the ammunition, into Mexico, with the intention of selling them on the streets. Mexican police stopped Valdez and others in December 2025 while they were traveling to the Mexican state of Michoacan.
Valdez, 26, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of unlawfully receiving a firearm. On Sept. 8, 2026, U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. sentenced Valdez to three years in federal prison.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The investigation was conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago. The CGIC is a centralized law enforcement partnership that focuses exclusively on investigating and prosecuting violent offenders who utilize firearms in commission of their crimes in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois. Every firearm-related case in Chicago is processed through the CGIC on a daily basis.
“Gun trafficking is a scourge on both our local community and the international community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “It is important to send a message to the individuals that might traffic guns to Mexico for money that there are serious consequences for doing so.”
Rodriguez, 29, of Chicago, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and firearm charges. A change-of-plea hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., before Judge Tharp.