A former Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office deputy in South Texas is set to spend nearly four years in prison for his role in staging fake drug busts where he stole narcotics from cartel members. Last week, Baldemar Cardenas, 39, appeared before U.S Chief District Judge Randy Crane at a federal courthouse in McAllen, Texas.
The former deputy was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison for cocaine possession and distribution conspiracy. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas reported that Cardenas pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge brought against him in April 2022 over his role in helping a group of drug traffickers steal drug shipments.
Prosecutors claim that in 2020, Cardenas assisted drug smugglers who received kilograms worth of cocaine imported from Mexico. From there, the recipients would cut the drugs, drastically diluting the purity of the cocaine to improve profitability. At this point, Cardenas would reportedly tip off law enforcement, setting up a drug bust.
According to authorities, the case was kickstarted in 2020 after a 73-pound seizure of cocaine was found to be only 1.5 percent pure. Supposedly, this is a tactic for drug smugglers to scam their organization through a fake drug bust where they can provide official documentation to cartels that the shipment was seized by authorities. As a result, the smugglers would essentially be able to steal the drugs.
However, upon investigating the raid, federal authorities determined that Cardenas, who at the time was assigned to the sheriff’s office’s patrol division, had been the source of the tip. Subsequently, Cardena was placed on administrative leave and resigned just days later. Cardenas reportedly cooperated with investigators, admitting to participating in the conspiracy to steal cocaine from a drug trafficking organization.
“I just want to apologize to the United States and the State of Texas for my wrongdoing,” Cardenas said last Tuesday, when he appeared before a judge for sentencing. “I would like to thank each and every one of you all for giving me an opportunity to work for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office,” Cardenas said in his resignation letter.
As part of the “make America safe again” agenda, President Donald Trump recently designated foreign drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). “President Trump will begin the process of designating cartels, including the dangerous Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations and use the Alien Enemies Act to remove them,” the Trump administration said.
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The statement continued, “President Trump will take bold action to secure our border and protect American communities.” It added, “This includes ending Biden’s catch-and-release policies, reinstating Remain in Mexico, building the wall, ending asylum for illegal border crossers, cracking down on criminal sanctuaries, and enhancing vetting and screening of aliens.”
The White House further noted, “The Armed Forces, including the National Guard, will engage in border security, which is national security, and will be deployed to the border to assist existing law enforcement personnel.” The administration said, “President Trump’s deportation operation will address the record border crossings of criminal aliens under the prior administration.”
Watch DHS Secretary Kristi Noem discuss the takedown of a Tren de Aragua ringleader here:
Featured image credit: Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office