Trucking news and briefs for Monday, Sept. 14, 2026:
- Previously recalled trucks recalled again over improper brake repairs.
- Cartel leader who facilitated trucks to smuggle cocaine sentenced.
2,400 Freightliner, Western Star trucks recalled after previous improperly repaired recall
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is recalling certain Freightliner and Western Star trucks that were previously repaired incorrectly under a prior recall.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents, approximately 2,404 model year 2020-’23 Freightliner Cascadia and 2022 Western Star 49X trucks were repaired incorrectly under recall numbers 23V-073 or 22V-817. In the affected trucks, the brake modulator valves on the front axle may corrode and cause the vehicle to pull to one side during braking initiated by Electronic Stability Control (ESC) or Roll Stability Control (RSC).
DTNA said the software remedy was the appropriate remedy for other chassis configurations, it was not compatible with these trucks.
Dealers will replace the brake modulator valves, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Nov. 8. Owners can contact DTNA customer service at 1-800-547-0712 with recall number F1039. NHTSA’s recall number is 26V-583. Vehicles repaired under the prior recalls will need the new repair completed.
[Related: 2027 emissions regs rollback dropped used-truck prices in July]
Mexican cartel leader sentenced for drug trafficking, money laundering
A lieutenant in the Mexican Sinaloa and Beltran-Leyva Cartels has been sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison for his role in working with a trucking company to traffic cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico.
Roberto Lopez, a/k/a Shrek, a/k/a NWA, who was hiding in Mexico for more than a decade before his capture and expulsion to the United States, smuggled weapons to Mexico and helped manage a vast cocaine-smuggling network in support of high-level cartel leaders.
“Before he went underground, Lopez was the head of domestic transportation for ruthless and far-reaching cartels that poured drugs into our community with military-level precision,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Even if it takes decades, my office and our law enforcement partners in the Homeland Security Task Force will never cease our efforts to track and arrest fugitives in their hiding places and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
According to Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: In the early 2000s, Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a/k/a “La Barbie,” was an infamous and ruthless enforcer for the Sinaloa and Beltran-Leyva Cartels in their war against the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas.
Valdez also partnered with U.S.-based trucking businessman Carlos Montemayor to operate a distribution network that moved up to 300 kilograms of cocaine per week to Atlanta, Memphis, and other cities while smuggling cash back to Mexico in shipments carrying no less than $1 million per load. In just a six-month period, the organization distributed 1,500 kilograms of cocaine in Atlanta alone.
The cartels’ operation is also estimated to have smuggled more than 1,000 rifles, 100-200 converted machine guns, and hundreds of magazines and ammunition drums into Mexico from the United States, along with silencers, night vision goggles, ballistic vests, helmets, and other tools of violence.
Lopez was the primary lieutenant for Valdez and Montemayor’s network, handling various logistics, including payments to truck drivers and stash house operators and the repackaging and transportation of money over the border.
He was repeatedly intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps discussing loads of cocaine bound for the U.S. and shipments of cash destined for cartel leaders. When the investigation disrupted the organization, Lopez fled to Mexico, where he remained in hiding until his arrest there in 2024.
Roberto Lopez, 46, of Laredo, Texas, and Mexico City, Mexico, was sentenced to 18 years, 10 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release. He pled guilty on May 19, 2026, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Following his indictment on Dec. 15, 2009, Lopez was arrested in Mexico City on June 27, 2024, and expelled by Mexico to the United States on Aug. 12, 2025.
In 2018, a federal judge in Atlanta sentenced Valdez to 49 years and 1 month in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. In 2019, Montemayor was sentenced to 34 years and 3 months in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.
