Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
LAREDO, Texas – A 37-year-old man has been sentenced for conspiring to distribute a large quantity of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Gavino Cadena pleaded guilty Nov. 10, 2022.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana has now ordered Cadena to serve a total of 194 months in federal prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court considered Cadena’s extensive criminal record, including his involvement with Cartel del Noreste (CDN) and the Tango Blast gang. Records also showed that while in custody awaiting sentencing in this case, Cadena was involved in numerous altercations with rival gang members such as Hermano Pistoleros Latinos, including incidents involving weapons.
The court found Cadena to be a leader/organizer within the drug trafficking organization. He coordinated the drug loads, paid co-conspirators for their involvement and reported directly to cartel leaders in Mexico. Cadena was held responsible for organizing the offloading and transport of more than 8,000 pounds of marijuana from multiple tractor trailers in Laredo that had been imported from Mexico.
hroughout the course of this multi-year investigation, which includes two related indictments, authorities seized more than 17 tons of marijuana valued at approximately $16.4 million.
To date, a total of 22 people, including several Mexican nationals, have been convicted for their roles in the conspiracy to transport narcotics for CDN. Their sentences have ranged from 18 months to 168 months in prison.
Cadena will remain in custody pending a transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Laredo Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; Border Patrol; Customs and Border Protection; FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. National Guard; Webb County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and Constable’s Office Precincts 1 and 4; Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Blue Indigo Task Force. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Anthony Evans prosecuted this case.
Updated February 12, 2025
