Robert “Eric” Castañeda
On May 29, 2026, Robert “Eric” Castañeda was named Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) El Paso Field Division (EPFD), which consists of three offices in West Texas and two offices in New Mexico. In total, EPFD covers 159,050 square miles with a population of more than 3 million people. The EPFD is also responsible for 778 miles (40%) of the United States/Mexico border and is comprised of a diverse staff of 281 personnel including Special Agents, Diversion Investigators, Intelligence Analysts, Task Force Officers/ Agents, members of the National Guard, and professional staff.
SAC Castañeda began his DEA career in 2005 as a Special Agent assigned to the Brownsville Resident Office. Leveraging his previous law enforcement experience along the Texas/Mexico border, he investigated major drug trafficking organizations with an emphasis on undercover operations, Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations, and commercial motor vehicle interdiction.
In 2013, SAC Castañeda was selected for an overseas assignment as Assistant Country Attaché at the DEA Port of Spain Country Office in Trinidad and Tobago. During this assignment, he initiated and coordinated international narcotics investigations, directed counter-narcotics and jungle operations, and worked closely with host-nation partners, including the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Trinidad and Tobago Transnational Organized Crime Unit, Guyana Police Force, and the Guyana Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit.
In 2015, SAC Castañeda was promoted to Group Supervisor at the Midland Resident Office, and later that year, was promoted to Resident Agent in Charge (RAC). As RAC, he led enforcement operations targeting significant drug trafficking organizations operating throughout West Texas. He also served as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Commander, directing multi-agency investigations in partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
In 2020, SAC Castañeda transferred to the DEA El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), where he served as Unit Chief of the National License Plate Reader Program (NLPRP). In that capacity, he oversaw the management, expansion, and strategic development of the DEA’s NLPRP and served as the agency’s subject matter expert in license plate reader technology.
In 2022, SAC Castañeda was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) at EPFD, where he managed multiple Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) groups, multi-agency Strike Force Groups, and general enforcement groups. During his tenure, he strengthened partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and helped expand the Division’s Fentanyl Overdose Response Team (FORT) to enhance coordinated efforts to address fentanyl-related poisonings.
In 2024, SAC Castañeda transferred back to South Texas to lead the McAllen District Office, which consisted of three offices along the Southwest border, covering approximately 22,000 miles, including 80 river miles of South Texas/Mexico border and 250 miles of Gulf of Mexico Coastline. In that role, SAC Castañeda also developed strong working relationships with federal, state, and local law enforcement in that area which led to the success of the newly established Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF).
Prior to joining the DEA, SAC Castañeda began his law enforcement career in 1999 as a Highway Patrol Trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety, serving in Hebbronville and Kingsville and later as a Narcotics Sergeant in Brownsville.
A native of South Texas, SAC Castañeda earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi.