Fernando “Fern”
Cruz
Fernando “Fern” Cruz, began his career with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in September of 1999, assigned to the Boston Field Division, marking a transition from his prior position as an accountant at the New York Life Insurance Company. In Boston, he was assigned to the Mobile Enforcement Team (MET) targeting specific geographical areas/municipalities grappling with substantial drug-trafficking and violence linked to organized drug gangs.
In 2003, Fern transferred to the DEA New York Field Division where he served until 2016. Throughout this period, he focused on investigating narcotics conspiracies at both the domestic and international levels. His investigations included delving into intricate narcotics conspiracies, narco-terrorism, healthcare fraud, the dismantling of money laundering networks, asset forfeiture, and the global apprehension of fugitives. During this assignment, he successfully seized properties associated with Caro Quintero drug trafficking organization, which is a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.
In 2016, Fern transferred internationally to the DEA Mexico City Country Office where he led investigations aimed at dismantling the upper echelons of cartel criminal leadership, culminating in the successful capture of DEA's most sought-after fugitives.
In 2018, Fern returned to the continental United States and took on a role at the DEA Raleigh District Office. He continued to investigate Transnational Criminal Organizations, placing particular emphasis on closely examining the operations of Mexican cartels and was subsequently promoted to Group Supervisor a year later, in 2019.
As Group Supervisor, Fern oversaw a Task Force consisting of 16 members, including DEA Special Agents, local police officers, contractors, and Intelligence Analysts. He led a team dedicated to targeting and prosecuting high-level leaders of international organized crime culminating in successfully having members of the cartel listed as Specially Designated Nationals by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Fern retired in 2022 from DEA and is now employed as a Senior Financial Investigator with the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force focusing on money laundering investigations associated with pervasive criminal enterprises throughout the world. Through his investigations, he’s become a subject matter expert in the field of financial crimes with a keen focus on the identification of schemes and trends in narco-terrorism, money laundering, along with state and federal asset forfeiture programs for a comprehensive approach at dismantling criminal enterprises.