Portland Area Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 26 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Deadly Kidnapping of Washington State Man

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Mexican National residing in Marion County, Oregon was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in the 2019 kidnapping and murder of a Washington State man and other drug trafficking crimes.

Marcos Alonso Castillo-Bernal, 48, was sentenced to 312 months in federal prison and 10 years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, in 2018, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) began investigating a Mexican drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and counterfeit OxyContin in the Portland area. The DTO was an intermediate source of supply to other organizations in Portland, on the Oregon coast, and in the Olympia, Washington area. In January 2019, Castillo-Bernal assumed control of the DTO and, along with various co-conspirators, was directly responsible for distributing large quantities of the illegal drugs in and around Portland.

From on or about April 9, 2019, until on or about April 13, 2019, Castillo-Bernal and others kidnapped, held hostage, and murdered Ricardo Corral-Moreno, of Olympia, Washington, and disposed of his body in a rural area near Molalla, Oregon. Castillo-Bernal and his co-conspirators targeted Corral-Moreno because of money he owed to Castillo-Bernal and others. Investigators identified ligature marks on Corral-Moreno’s wrists consistent with his having been tied up and determined he died of blunt force injuries to the back of his head. Castillo-Bernal’s DNA was also found on Corral-Moreno’s left cheek and ankle.

On January 6, 2022, a superseding indictment was unsealed charging Castillo-Bernal with various drug trafficking crimes and for his role in Corral-Moreno’s kidnapping and murder. He made his initial appearance in federal court the same day.

On January 18, 2023, Castillo-Bernal pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances, conspiring to commit kidnapping resulting in death, and illegally reentering the U.S.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Portland Police Bureau, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, and Clackamas County Interagency Task Force (CCITF). It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

This prosecution is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.