CJNG cartel member sentenced to 25 years for firearm trafficking, distributing meth

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — A former Mexican police officer and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) member was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and other charges, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas.

Rene Hernandez-Cordero, 52, of Ciudad Juárez, sentenced to 25 years for one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, 15 years for one count of straw purchasing firearms and trafficking in firearms and five years for one count of conspiracy to smuggle bulk cash. All sentences will run concurrently, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

As KTSM previously reported, Hernandez-Cordero was involved in a firearm smuggling organization to bring firearms into Mexico and methamphetamine into the U.S.

Back in Aug. 2023, Hernandez-Cordero and codefendant Jesus Gerardo Ramos, 53, of El Paso, met at a gas station in El Paso to obtain 20 AK-47 firearms and two Barrett .50 rifles that would be smuggled into Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ramos pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking firearms and is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 26, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Another codefendant, Brian Alexis Munoz Castro, 21, also pleaded guilty to one count of firearms and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth. His hearing is scheduled to be on Wednesday, Oct. 23, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the last codefendant, Maria Del Rosario Navarro Sanchez, aka “Chayo,” aka “Fernanda,” 38, is still a fugitive and she’s indicted for two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of straw purchasing firearms and one count of trafficking in firearms.

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