MIDLAND, Texas – A Mexican national unlawfully residing in Texas was sentenced Thursday to life in federal prison for his criminal actions as the leader of a drug trafficking organization tied to a Mexican cartel. According to court documents, Jose Ramon Castillo-Lopez aka “Pepo,” 30, of Namiquipa, Chihuahua, Mexico, supplied...

ALBUQUERQUE – This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Marshal Service, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, conducted a coordinated operation to dismantle a significant drug trafficking network in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The operation targeted 15...

EL PASO, Texas – Twenty-one individuals suspected of being affiliated with the Chuco Tango street gang were arrested Thursday in and around El Paso on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and/or the unlawful possession of firearms. The following defendants were indicted...

ALBUQUERQUE – The last of the eight defendants indicted following a joint law enforcement operation in Carlsbad last year pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses in federal court yesterday. Jesus Alonso Cerezo-Espidio , 51, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 grams and more of...

ALBUQUERQUE – Three of the eight defendants indicted following a joint enforcement operation last year in Carlsbad, pleaded guilty in federal court to federal drug offenses. Carlos Venegas, Jr., 24, of Carlsbad, pleaded guilty on March 4, 2024, to one count each of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams and more...

ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Kassandra Lee Perales and Jared Michael Moore, two of the 12 defendants arrested during a joint enforcement...

Note: View the Superseding Indictment . ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's El Paso Division and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced the results of a law enforcement operation that resulted in fifteen defendants being...

Note: View the Second Superseding Indictment ALBUQUERQUE – Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, and Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that a federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging Buddy...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Today, Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Eric Castañeda, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Division, and Francisco B. Burrola, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, and Jeffrey C. Boshek II...

EL PASO, Texas – The leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso Thursday to life in prison. According to court documents, Jorge Sanchez Morales aka “Capulina,” 47, ran a drug trafficking organization, spanning from Mexico to El Paso and on to...