Transnational Gangs

Houston residents James Michael Brewer aka ‘Creeper’, 33, Jonathan Alvarado aka ‘Joker’, 28, Alexis Delgado aka ‘Chino’, 28, Hector Luis Lopez aka ‘Capulito’, 23, Kylie Rae Alvarado, 24, Ruby Mata, 31, Victor Norris Ellison, 35, Mexi Dyan Garcia aka ‘Mexi’, 31, and Jesus Gomez-Rodriguez aka ‘Jr.’, 33, made their initial appearances in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas May 22 when the indictment was unsealed.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two high-ranking members of the Mexico-based Cartel del Noreste, formerly known as Los Zetas, May 21. CDN, one of Mexico’s most violent drug trafficking organizations and a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, has significant influence over the border region, particularly near the Laredo/Nuevo Laredo entry point.

One of the suspected shooters, Venezuelan national Ricardo Granadillo Padilla, 25, was arrested on Feb. 8 by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Chicago and Raleigh, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Raleigh, U.S Border Patrol Tactical Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service, and CBP Air and Marine Operations in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Two members of the Tango Blast gang identified as Juan Miguel Regalado, 28, and Samuel Grajeda Jr., 21, were sentenced May 15 after being convicted of conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

According to court documents, Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 39, of Mexico, conspired with others to provide and did attempt to provide grenades to CJNG, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Co-defendant Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 27, of Mexico, is charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens into and transport aliens in the United States, straw purchasing and firearms trafficking. Co-defendant Gustavo Castro-Medina, 28, of Mexico, is charged with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking, conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

An indictment unsealed May 13 is the first in the nation to charge alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with narco-terrorism and material support of terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin into the United States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 38-year-old criminal alien Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, a Salvadoran national, May 5 in Silver Spring. Mejia is a validated MS-13 gang member and is wanted in his home country for firearms offenses.

ICE, the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety arrested Jesus Alberto Escalona-Mujicas, a 47-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela and documented Tren de Aragua gang member, April 9, in Bryan, Texas.

Noe Gonzalez-Martinez, also known as Tocayo, 41, will serve the rest of his life plus 60 months in federal prison for his role in multiple convictions related to a murder-for-hire scheme that brought three sicarios, or hitmen, across the U.S. border into Laredo.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Diplomatic Security Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and several other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.