PHARR, Texas (Border Report) — A major drug-pusher for a powerful Mexican drug cartel has been sent to prison for 27 years for distributing methamphetamine drugs north of the border in South Texas, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Homero Guerra-Moreno, a 48-year-old Mexican national, pleaded guilty and Wednesday was ordered to serve the lengthy federal prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo in Laredo, Texas, U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said.

Since 2013, Guerra-Moreno is believed to have trafficked about 15,000 kilograms of meth into South Texas from Mexico for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), Hamdani said

Hamdani described the CJNG as “ruthless” and said Guerra-Moreno’s arrest, conviction and sentencing “dealt a blow to the Mexican cartels.”

The CJNG for years has been vying for territory, and warring with Mexican military and other cartels, like the Cartel del Noreste in the northern Mexican town of Nuevo Laredo, south of the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas.

“His capture and sentence sends a message to those who work with the cartels: You can run but you cannot hide,” Hamdani said.

“Reaching the source of supply is crucial in stopping the flow of devastating drugs into our communities,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Daniel Comeaux of Houston. “The exemplary collective and persistent efforts between DEA and its federal partners brought down one of CJNG’s most significant meth source of suppliers in South Texas.”

For the past decade, Guerra-Moreno imported “ice” from Mexico through the United States for the CJNG and recruited traffickers to transport meth from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into Laredo, Texas, federal authorities say.

He was arrested in May 2022 in Panama City, Panama, as he was trying to leave on a flight for Mexico, and was instead returned to Texas.

He pleaded guilty the following December. Officials say he will likely be deported after he completes serving his sentence.

WEBB COUNTY, Tex. (KGNS) - In a bid to bring about change and foster an open-door policy, Eduardo “Wayo” Ruiz, the Chief Bailiff for the 406th District Court, declared his candidacy for the office of Webb County Sheriff on Thursday, August 3.

Ruiz has been involved with local law enforcement and has garnered substantial experience throughout his career. Making his announcement, he revealed that this move had been in the works for several years. He expressed that people from the community had been urging him to run, seeking a fresh approach and a candidate who would lend a listening ear and support to their concerns.

“Basically, they’re calling and asking that they just want a change. Obviously, there are a lot of things going on that are still up in the air. But they want an open-door policy, which is a huge one. And they want somebody to listen, to support them, and that’s what I bring to the table,” Ruiz asserted.

The primary elections are slated to take place in March 2024.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - Nearly $1.4 million in federal money is going to TAMIU.

Congressman Henry Cuellar helped announce the federal funds at a presentation earlier today.

One part of the money will go towards preparing 37 undergraduate TAMIU stem students to be mathematics teachers.

Another part will help improve undergraduate engineering student retention, but all the money is an investment for the future especially in one growing area.

Congressman Cuellar told us, “As we move through this economy, we can see that engineering and artificial intelligence are going to be so important, and this is why TAMIU is at the cutting-edge of, to not only train math teachers, but engineers, especially in the areas of AI -- Artificial Intelligence.”

Funding for both awards presented today was provided by the National Science Foundation.

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Border Report) – Hector Flores remembers the days when young Latinos went to underequipped public schools and faced the prospect of dropping out and working in agricultural fields or factories.

“It was separate but unequal; you don’t know what it feels like when people act as if you’re not there,” the 81-year-old Texas activist said. “I’ve seen lots of changes in my long life because once you succeed academically, you’ll succeed in the workforce.”

And succeed they have – to a degree. Hispanic Americans are now the largest minority group (62.1 million people) in the country and contribute $2.8 trillion a year to the U.S. economy. The 5 million Latino-owned businesses in the nation provide jobs to 3 million workers and, If they were a country, they’d surpass the gross domestic product of France and the United Kingdom, according to estimates.  

But challenges remain. Latinos experience higher unemployment rates, make 25% less and their net economic assets are only one-fifth when compared to non-Hispanic whites, according to a 2022 report by the Senate’s Joint Economic Committee. Only one in four Latino-owned businesses receive bank loans over $100,000.

Those are disparities the League of United Latin American Citizens seeks to address as it holds its national convention in Albuquerque this week. Organizers expect to draw 10,000 participants and leave the city a $13 million economic windfall. The convention at the Albuquerque Convention Center offers a job fair featuring private companies and the military branches.

LULAC National President Domingo Garcia said the group – the oldest and largest Hispanic civil rights organization in America – has a long-standing commitment to education, economic opportunities and political representation for Latinos.

Garcia said LULAC is concerned about anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies in Texas and Florida and is planning to sue Texas over the placement of buoys in the Rio Grande to deter migrants from coming across. “We cannot keep seeing (reports of) DPS troopers told to throw children back into the river. That’s not the America we know, that’s not the Christianity I’ve been taught.”

LULAC advocates for immigration reform to legalize millions of undocumented migrants who have resided in the country and contributed to the economy for many years and are the parents of U.S.-born children. The current political divide in Congress has brought immigration initiatives on both sides of the aisle to a halt, but Garcia said that likely will change in 2024.

“The road to the White House goes through the barrios and Latino neighborhoods of America and the fact of the matter is we not only have swing states like Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, but also Latinos making an impact in places like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania,” the Dallas-based personal injury lawyer said. “And I think Texas and Florida are still up for grabs.”

Almost 10 percent of the U.S. Congress consists of Hispanic representatives or senators, according to the Congressional Research Service. That is a record number. And with Hispanics accounting for half of the country’s population growth from 2010 to 2020, the numbers are likely to keep growing and influence federal economic and immigration policies, LULAC officials said.

Both Garcia and Flores said the overwhelming majority of migrants that have come across the border in the past two and a half years seeking asylum will make a positive impact on the U.S. economy in the long run.

“Many of our great companies started with immigrants coming here with ideas and becoming very successful entrepreneurs,” Flores said. “Besides Native Americans, everyone else has been an immigrant. The governor (of Texas) has forgotten about that. He’s doing the wrong thing by trying to keep (migrants) out and shutting their success because that will be our success (as a nation), too.”

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A Laredo family that was involved in a tragic fatal car accident on Cuatro Vientos nearly two weeks ago is on the road to recovery, but they are in dire need of assistance.

The three-vehicle accident was reported on July 24 along Cuatro Vientos.

According to officials, a black Chevy Traverse collided with a Red Toyota RAV4.

Three children who were in the black Chevy were killed at the scene; while the family in the Red Toyota sustained severe injuries.

Maribel Reyes, the aunt of Rigoberto Reyes Jr. said there were a total of five family members inside the Red Toyota at the time of the crash which included.

Rigoberto, Rosa Reyes, four-year-old Nathan, three-year-old Noah and 17-year-old Kimberly Ramirez.

Maribel said her nephew, Rigoberto is in intensive care and has had several injuries due to internal injuries.

Meanwhile, her younger relatives, sustained severe injuries such as broken bones and cuts to the face.

“They took him right away to the hospital and was airlifted as well as Kimberly, they were both in San Antonio and his injuries are two broken arms, he has a long cut on his liver, he had reconstruction surgery on his face because all his left side was taken out. His eye is, he has a broken cheek bone, his eye is very swollen, and he cannot open it, that we don’t know if he’s going to be able to see.”

According to Maribel, the family did not have medical insurance so she set up a GoFundMe Page where people can donate to help pay for medical expenses.