Federal agents arrested a former New Mexico Democrat judge and his wife on Thursday after they were accused of harboring a suspected member of Tren de Aragua at their home.
Former Dona Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano and his wife, Nancy, were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at their home in Las Cruces, KFOX14 reported. Both the 67-year-old former judge and his wife are charged with tampering with evidence.
The couple is currently in custody at the Dona Ana County Jail, awaiting their appearance in federal court. They were arrested as part of a probe by Homeland Security Investigations into their association with 23-year-old Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, who authorities say is linked to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. Ortega-Lopez was arrested at the Canos’ home in February.
“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens—including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, commenting on the arrest. “If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you and lock you up. That’s a promise.”
Cano resigned from his judgeship earlier this week and was banned by the New Mexico Supreme Court from holding any judicial office again. The court ordered that Cano “shall never again hold, become a candidate for, run for, or stand for election to any New Mexico judicial office in the future.”
Ortega-Lopez, originally from Venezuela, was accused of illegal entry to the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas. He spent three days in Border Patrol custody before he was released because of overcrowded facilities at the Border Patrol’s South Laredo, Texas, processing center, according to court records, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He met Nancy in El Paso, where he was working as a construction worker and handyman, and she offered for him to stay in a small house behind their home.
Ortega-Lopez has been charged with being an unlawful alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and is seen in court documents holding guns.
Cano has denied any knowledge of the suspected ties between Ortega-Lopez and Tren De Aragua. Investigators have said that they have text messages and voice mail messages that confirm the links to the notorious gang.
“Let me be as crystal clear as possible,” Cano told the New Mexico Supreme Court. “The very first time I ever heard that the boys could possibly have any association with Tren de Aragua was when I was informed of that by [the] agents on the day of the raid.”
