NEW ORLEANS – KENYARIE GUZMAN (“GUZMAN”), age 30, of Hammond, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo on January 14, 2026, to distribution of a quantity of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) (Count 1). GUZMAN also pled guilty to distribution of forty grams or more of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B) (Count 2), as well as possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) (Count 3), announced U.S. Attorney David I.

Courcelle.According to court documents, in 2024, the Hammond Police Department learned that GUZMAN was distributing narcotics in Hammond and Pontchatoula, Louisiana. On February 27, 2025, under the direction of the Hammond Police Department (HPD), a person GUZMAN believed to be a legitimate buyer, purchased 8.39 grams of heroin and fentanyl from GUZMAN at a residence in Pontchatoula. On March 11, 2025, under the direction of the HPD, the confidential source purchased 43.01 grams of fentanyl and heroin from GUZMAN. After the two purchases, law enforcement executed a search warrant at GUZMAN’S residence and seized 15.61 grams of heroin and fentanyl.For Counts 1 and 3, GUZMAN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, and a term of supervised release of at least 3 years.

For Count 2, GUZMAN faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, a fine of up to $5,000,000, and term of supervised release of at least 4 years. GUZMAN also faces a mandatory special assessment fee of $300.00.This case is being investigated by the Office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Hammond Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney André Jones of the Narcotics Unit is in charge of the prosecution.This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.* * *