Three residents of Laredo, Texas, Angela Ruby Ponce, 18, Oscar Axel Flores, 22, and Mario Alberto Tovar, 28, are facing charges for their alleged involvement in purchasing firearms for the Cartel del Noreste (CDN) and transporting them to Mexico, as announced by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
What is CDN?
The Cartel del Noreste, also known as the Northeast Cartel, is a Mexican drug cartel which was founded in 2014 by Juan Gerardo Chavez Trevino, the nephew of Los Zetas leader Miguel Trevino Morales. Based in Tamaulipas, it was formed as a result of infighting within Los Zetas, and it controlled Nuevo Laredo and fought with the Gulf Cartel.
A federal grand jury has indicted the trio on four counts, including conspiracy, smuggling goods from the United States, trafficking firearms, and purchasing firearms directly for the CDN. The indictment alleges that from January 1 through April 2, the three conspired to traffic firearms for the cartel.
According to the charges, on April 2, Ponce, Flores, and Tovar visited a federal firearms licensee in Laredo to purchase a semi-automatic rifle. They were apprehended by U.S. authorities as they attempted to leave the United States and head to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
US DOJ on Twitter
US DOJ on twitter announced the indictment for providing the firearms to Cartel Del Noreste.
Three indicted for providing firearms to Cartel del Noreste#LaredoTx #firearmsoffenses https://t.co/6prPF6GSkq pic.twitter.com/qbrCT7T9b2
— US Attorney SDTX (@USAO_SDTX) April 30, 2024
The criminal complaint filed in the case indicates that the trio was working on behalf of the CDN and had purchased and transported at least 12 firearms to the cartel over several months. These firearms included various handguns and rifles.
The indictment describes the CDN as a Mexican criminal organization involved in transnational crimes such as kidnapping, extortion, vehicle theft, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and money laundering. The cartel is headquartered in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and has influence over other Mexican cities. The CDN allegedly uses firearms of various calibres and capabilities to carry out and protect its operations.
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If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy, up to 10 years for smuggling goods from the United States, up to 15 years for trafficking firearms, and up to 25 years for purchasing firearms directly for the CDN. These latter two charges are new under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted by Congress and signed by the President in June 2022. All charges also carry potential fines of up to $250,000.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Laredo Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan L. Oliver prosecuting the case.