Illegal Alien Sentenced for Leadership Role in Multi-State Drug Trafficking Organization Linked to Mexican Cartels
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 36-year-old Mexican national who illegally resided in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for his role in a conspiracy involving large quantities of cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Brian Leardo of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Baldemar Navarro-Jaimes pleaded guilty July 1, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Navarro-Jaimes to serve 234 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, Judge Morales noted the vast quantity of drugs attributed to the organization and the numerous lives affected by the drugs and firearms.
Navarro-Jaimes was a leader in a drug trafficking organization responsible for moving drugs from Mexican cartels to Houston and Dallas. The narcotics were then distributed to other U.S. cities in the states of Illinois, New York, Georgia and North Carolina. The organization also moved firearms to Mexico to arm the cartels.
Navarro-Jaimes was responsible for brokering narcotics and firearms transactions for the organization. He was directly tied to approximately nine kilograms of cocaine, 23 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 10 firearms.
The investigation revealed he used a stash house in Dallas to facilitate drug trafficking activities. A search warrant of another residence tied to Navarro-Jaimes resulted in the discovery and seizure of four firearms, assorted ammunition and multiple cellphones.
Navarro-Jaimes has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Foster, Liesel Roscher and Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.
This investigation and prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force 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 U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes these organizations commit, 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 South Texas comprises agents and officers from ICE-HSI; FBI; DEA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation/IRS; Interpol/Department of State and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas leading the prosecution.
