An old acquaintance returns to court
The United States Attorney’s Office bases much of its accusation against oil magnate James Jensen and his family on the testimony of a confidential informant who had already collaborated with justice more than a decade ago. This is Luis Ariel Rivera Rodríguez, a 53-year-old naturalized Mexican-American, owner of the company Luxemborg Trading LLC.
Rivera, identified as CI-1 in court documents, met secretly with prosecutors and agents from the FBI, DEA and Homeland Security in Texas since mid-2024. He recounted how the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) participated in the theft of oil from Pemex and its smuggling into the United States.
300 million dollar business
According to the indictment, between 2018 and 2025, around 4,000 shipments of crude oil worth $300 million were trafficked. The fuel was brought into the US disguised as “petroleum distillate” or “used lubricating oil.”
Rivera stated that the CJNG controlled the roads in Mexico and collected extortions. He said he paid $2,000 per tank to operate. He also mentioned that he bribed federal, state and local officials, and that customs intermediaries falsified documents to export crude oil.
A history that repeats itself
Rivera is not new to this type of case. In 2008 he was arrested in an operation against the Gulf Cartel, which then controlled the theft of hydrocarbons in the Burgos Basin. Pemex reported losses of 300 million dollars. Rivera collaborated with the authorities and spent some years in prison until 2013.
At that time, James Jensen was already listed as a buyer of the stolen fuel, linked to companies such as Big Star Gathering LTD. However, Jensen avoided the accusations at the time.
The restaurant trap
In April 2025, Rivera arranged a meeting with James and Maxwell Jensen at a restaurant in Dallas. He had hidden microphones. He spoke about his relationship with the CJNG, mentioned leaders such as El Mencho (who died this year in a Mexican Army operation), El Tanque and Chuy 7, and recalled that President Trump had classified the cartel as a terrorist organization. That conversation supports the accusation that the Jensens knew they were dealing with organized crime.
The Jensens’ defense maintains that Rivera set a trap for them and that they were unaware of the illicit origin of the fuel. But the fact that both were involved in the same criminal plot twenty years ago complicates their version.
James Jensen, his wife Kelly Anne, and their children Maxwell and Zachary were arrested on April 23, 2025. They face charges of smuggling, money laundering, and financing a terrorist organization. The case is being litigated in the Southern District Court of Texas.
