5 arrested for allegedly trafficking weapons to Mexican cartel
- One person allegedly coordinated purchase of over 100 guns
- Military-grade firearms were meant to be smuggled to Mexican cartel
- Deputy attorney general: 'We will disrupt and dismantle the drug cartels'
FILE – A sign marks an entrance to the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington, Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
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(NewsNation) — Five people were arrested in Laredo, Texas, last week for allegedly trafficking military-grade firearms to a drug cartel in Mexico, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents, Geraldo Rafael Perez Jr., 23, allegedly coordinated the acquisition of more than 100 firearms throughout Texas meant to be smuggled over the southern border and delivered to a drug trafficking cartel in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
Perez allegedly used straw buyers, including co-defendants Francisco Alejandro Benavides, 23, and Mark Anthony Trevino Jr., 24, to procure the firearms from a variety of sources across Texas.
Meanwhile, Luis Matias Leal, also known as Wicho, Poncho, and El Tio, 30, allegedly provided cash and instructions to facilitate the conspiracy, while Antonio Osiel Casarez, 26, would smuggle the firearms into Mexico and return to the U.S. with bulk cash.
“Stopping the trafficking of high-caliber and military-grade firearms to Mexico is a top priority for the Justice Department — and especially the ATF agents and Department prosecutors that lead Operation Southbound,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
“Working with our Mexican partners, we will disrupt and dismantle the drug cartels responsible for so much destruction in both nations, and as demonstrated by these charges, we will bring to justice the alleged firearms traffickers who would arm those cartels,” Monaco added.