A cartel-linked execution inside a Miami Springs hotel room has now translated into decades in federal prison.
Federal prosecutors on Friday secured lengthy prison terms for two people tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel in a 2022 execution-style killing at a Miami Springs hotel. Tsvia Kol, 37, of Hallandale Beach, was sentenced to roughly 230 months, just under 20 years, and Jimmy Sanchez, 38, of Spring Valley, California, drew about 330 months, or more than 27 years. The victim was identified as 46-year-old Julio Gonzalez.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to using a firearm to cause death and to conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida. Prosecutors said the sentences were imposed after the pair admitted their roles in the killing and related drug offenses.
How Prosecutors Say The Hotel Killing Played Out
Investigators say Kol lured Gonzalez to a room at the Aladdin Hotel and arranged for Sanchez, who had flown in from San Diego, to confront him. While inside the room, Gonzalez placed a 911 call that captured a struggle and gunfire.
Hotel security footage later showed Kol and Sanchez leaving the property, and Sanchez admitted he shot the victim, as reported by NBC 6.
Missing Meth Shipment At Center Of Deadly Dispute
Federal prosecutors tied the killing to a missing package containing about 11 pounds of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of roughly $90,000. Kol and Sanchez believed Gonzalez had stolen the shipment, but agents say the drugs had been seized by law enforcement.
Those details were included in a U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida press release announcing the sentences.
Cartel Ties, Prior Busts And A ‘Drug Deal Gone Wrong’
Authorities have described Kol as a known high-ranking Sinaloa cartel member who has been implicated in international drug trafficking and money laundering. She was detained in 2020 after agents found pounds of meth and fentanyl pills and later pleaded guilty in a separate federal drug case, receiving a nine-year term in May 2024, as reported by NBC 6.
“This started as a drug deal gone wrong and ended in an execution,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quif1ones said, adding that the prison terms reflect the seriousness of the violence. Local reporting also noted Kol was identified in arrest documents as the ex-wife of Wilfredo Nunes Gallardo, another alleged high-ranking cartel figure, as reported by Local 10.
