Former Mexican Police Officer and CJNG Cartel Member Sentenced in El Paso to 25 Years in Federal Prison

EL PASO, Texas - A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court to 300 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, 180 months for one count of straw purchasing firearms and trafficking in firearms, and 60 months for one count of conspiracy to smuggle bulk cash. All sentences will run concurrently.

According to court documents, Rene Hernandez-Cordero, 52, of Ciudad Juarez was involved in an organization that smuggled firearms into Mexico and methamphetamine into the United States.

In August 2023, Hernandez-Cordero and codefendant Jesus Gerardo Ramos, 53, of El Paso, met at a gas station in El Paso with the purpose of obtaining 20 AK-47 type firearms and two Barrett .50 caliber rifles which would have been smuggled to Mexico. Evidence produced at trial showed that this particular group smuggled hundreds of firearms from the United States into Mexico from August 2022 to August 2023.

Ramos pleaded guilty in April to one count of trafficking in firearms. He's scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26.

Codefendant, Brian Alexis Munoz Castro, 21, of El Paso, also pleaded guilty in April to one count of trafficking in firearms plus one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. His sentence hearing is set for Oct. 23.

A third codefendant, Maria Del Rosario Navarro Sanchez aka "Chayo," aka "Fernanda," 38, of Mexico, remains a fugitive. She's indicted for two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of straw purchasing firearms, and one count of trafficking in firearms.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces El Paso/Las Cruces Strike Force Enforcement Group 3 investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Myers and Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Shannon Holderfield from Customs and Border Protection Office of Chief Counsel prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The OCDETF El Paso / Las Cruces Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO), and the El Paso Police Department (EPPD) and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas in conjunction with an attorney from Customs and Border Protection Office of Chief Counsel.

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