A Laredo man with ties to a Texas prison gang and a Mexican cartel will spend over 16 years in federal prison for leading a drug ring that distributed tons of marijuana.
Gavino Cadena, 37, pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2022, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Nicholas J. Ganjei said in a news release Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered Cadena to serve 16 years and two months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute a large quantity of marijuana, then five years of supervised release.
During sentencing, the judge considered Cadena’s extensive criminal record, including his involvement with Cartel del Noreste and the Tango Blast gang. While in custody awaiting sentencing, records show he also was involved in altercations with rival gang members, including Hermano Pistoleros Latinos. Some of the incidents involved weapons, authorities said.
The court determined Cadena was a leader and organizer for the drug trafficking organization.
Authorities said he coordinated drug loads, paid coconspirators and reported directly to cartel leaders in Mexico. He also reportedly was responsible for organizing the offloading and transport of more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana from several tractor-trailers in Laredo that arrived from Mexico.
“The Department of Justice is going to use all available avenues to crack down on cartel activity operating inside our country,” Ganjei said. “The drug trade inevitably leads to violence, and so every drug dealer or cartel member taken off the street makes our communities a little bit safer.”
During the multiyear investigation that included two related indictments, law enforcement seized more than 17 tons of marijuana valued at about $16.4 million, the news release said.
Authorities said that so far, 22 people, including several Mexican nationals, have been convicted in the cartel conspiracy and have been sentenced to terms ranging from 18 months to 14 years in prison.
Cadena will stay in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined later.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Laredo Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces operation with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Border Patrol; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. National Guard; the Webb County District Attorney’s Office, the Webb County Sheriff’s Office and Constable’s Office Precincts 1 and 4; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Blue Indigo Task Force.
The task forces target drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Anthony Evans prosecuted this case.
During the multiyear investigation that included two related indictments, law enforcement seized more than 17 tons of marijuana valued at about $16.4 million. Read More
