Three Laredo locals have been caught in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement, indicted for their alleged role in arming one of Mexico's feared cartels. On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas reported that Angela Ruby Ponce, 18, Oscar Axel Flores, 22, and Mario Alberto Tovar, 28, were formally charged by a federal jury with a raft of serious firearms offenses.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced the indictment, outlining how the trio is accused of funneling firepower across the Rio Grande to the Cartel del Noreste. According to federal charges, between January 1 and April 2, the threesome allegedly conspired to traffic firearms, which they are said to have purchased for the cartel's cause.
The indictment, obtained by the Justice Department website, claims that on April 2, Ponce, Flores, and Tovar went to a local Laredo gun shop, bought a semi-automatic rifle, and were intercepted by U.S. authorities as they tried to take the weapon into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. In total, the group is suspected of obtaining and transporting at least 12 guns for the CDN, including handguns and rifles.
Described as a ruthless operation headquartered in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, the CDN reportedly engages in horrific crimes from kidnapping to drug trafficking. These latest charges spotlight the cartel's reliance on illicitly obtained U.S. weaponry to carry out their activities. Ponce, Flores, and Tovar now face up to five years in the federal slammer for conspiracy, 10 for smuggling goods, and a crushing 15 years for trafficking firearms. And under the June 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, they also could be smacked with another 25 years for straw purchasing, plus fines as steep as $250,000 for each charge.
The case, being spearheaded by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan L. Oliver, follows an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Laredo Police Department. It's important to remember that these charges remain accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by the courts. Ponce, Flores, and Tovar are slated for their arraignment on May 2 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga.
