Julio Gonzalez, 46, was found dead on November 29, 2022, in a room at the Aladdin Hotel in Miami Springs. He was discovered with gunshot wounds to the face and head, described as an execution-style killing in a hotel room near Miami International Airport.

Investigators tied the slaying to a drug-trafficking matter involving a missing package of methamphetamine. Federal authorities subsequently identified links between the murder and a transregional trafficking operation, and charged two people in connection with the case: Tsvia Kol and Jimmy Sanchez. Prosecutors alleged Kol lured Gonzalez to the hotel under the pretense of discussing the missing package and that Sanchez was the shooter. Charges included conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and offenses related to a firearm used in furtherance of a drug-trafficking conspiracy that resulted in a death.

The killing underscores the deadly reach of cartel-linked drug trafficking and its violent consequences for those involved. If anyone has information about Gonzalez, his movements before November 29, 2022, or the events at the Aladdin Hotel, please come forward.