For ads-free news, click here.
From Fox News: A former New Mexico judge and his wife allegedly tried to hide incriminating images and videos of an illegal immigrant believed to be a member of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang and harbored other migrants, the Justice Department said Friday.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, 68, and his wife, Nancy Cano, 67, were arrested Thursday after federal agents raided their Las Cruces home. The pair face charges of evidence tampering amid allegations they harbored Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.
Ortega-Lopez was put on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) radar after a tipster said he was in the U.S. illegally and had guns. He initially entered the country Dec. 15, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas. He was taken into custody and released due to overcrowding at the U.S. Border Patrol facility.
Ortega-Lopez apparently posted multiple images and videos on social media showing him with other illegal immigrants handling guns at a shooting range in Las Cruces, federal prosecutors said. Among the weapons were a SIG Sauer P365 pistol, an AR-15 rifle equipped with a suppressor and other high-powered guns and ammunition.
Many of his posts confirmed his affiliation with the TdA gang, including tattoos, hand gestures and his clothing. He also had images on his phone of people who had been decapitated.
When authorities raided the property on Feb. 28, they seized four guns, along with three cellphones belonging to Ortega-Lopez. However, a fourth phone was missing.
Attorney General Pam Bondi explained that on April 24, federal agents searched the Cano home looking for Ortega-Lopez’s missing phone. Joel Cano finally admitted to the agents that he smashed the device with a hammer five weeks earlier because he believed it contained incriminating photos and videos of Ortega-Lopez with guns, and said he then threw it into a dumpster.
Both Joel and Nancy Cano are facing up to 15 years in prison.
WATCH BELOW as Bondi discusses the case and lays out the details.
.@AGPamBondi gives updates on the New Mexico judge who harbored a Tren-de-Aragua gang member in his home:
“He took one of the TDA members’ cellphones — beat it with a hammer — and then walked the pieces to a city dumpster to dispose it to protect him… Not only that, this TDA… pic.twitter.com/PfPUDpFjxm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 25, 2025
UPDATE 4/29/25: “Court documents highlight photos and text messages that Homeland Security Investigations claims prove the undocumented Venezuelan living in the Las Cruces home of a former Dona Ana County Magistrate judge is a Tren de Aragua gang member.”
Court documents highlight photos and text messages that Homeland Security Investigations claims prove the undocumented Venezuelan living in the Las Cruces home of a former Dona Ana County Magistrate judge is a Tren de Aragua gang member. MORE INFO: https://t.co/8HvR6qtOz9 pic.twitter.com/Gkzv6uCbvH
— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) April 29, 2025
READ MORE from Fox News.
Ex-New Mexico judge, wife tried to hide evidence of illegal alien gangbanger, DOJ prosecutors say https://t.co/RUR5xp1b46
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 26, 2025
A Democrat judge in New Mexico let a Venezuelan gang member live in his guest house — with a suppressed AR-15, cartel snuff photos, and texts asking for grenades.
His wife drove him to immigration appointments.
Tell me again how our institutions aren’t compromised.#BorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/FEFvUNsii4— Flopping Aces (@FloppingAces) April 21, 2025
Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter.)
The DML News App: www.X.com/DMLNewsApp
The Dennis Michael Lynch Podcast archive is available below, with the most recent on top. Never miss an episode. Subscribe to the show by downloading The DML News App or go to Apple Podcasts.
