McALLEN — Government prosecutors say the wife of a currently indicted alleged drug trafficker lied on the stand during the man’s arraignment hearing, records show.
Ariana Sepulveda, during a Feb. 11 arraignment hearing in federal court for her husband Daniel Sepulveda; accused of being part of a drug trafficking organization that orchestrated a scheme to smuggle more than 300 kilograms of cocaine on Jan. 17, 2020, allegedly lied while under oath.
Ariana Sepulveda, while on the stand, said she did not know of her husband’s involvement in the incident in January, the complaint against her states.
As part of the complaint against the 26-year-old woman, the government underscores her testimony from the aforementioned arraignment, where they explain to her that as part of the investigation into her husband, they had seized her phone and had access to conversations between them.
“And are you aware of the fact that in reviewing the contents of the calls on that phone that it shows that you were instructed by your husband to delete all your messages in your phone; are you aware of that,?” To which Ariana answered, no.
She was then asked whether or not she knew that Daniel Sepulveda had fled to Reynosa in the aftermath of the alleged cocaine trafficking incident; to which she answered, no.
The government in the complaint presents a transcription of text messages translated from Spanish to English between Ariana and Daniel Sepulveda, in which the two discuss among other things, deleting messages off two different phones, Daniel’s trip into Mexico, and his attempt to get Ariana to accompany him in Reynosa.
In one exchange, Ariana asks her husband when he would be coming back to the U.S., and he tries to convince her to go to Mexico to be with him, but she is reluctant, and afraid.
“Where are we going to sleep over there,” Ariana asks her husband. “Well, in a hotel,” Daniel responds. But Ariana is not convinced. “No hotel. It is scary over there,” Ariana responds.
Additionally, the two exchange messages when Daniel illegally re-enters the country, after spending a day in Mexico.
The complaint states they identified the two Sepulveda’s with the photos they sent each other.
Ariana Sepulveda made her initial appearance on June 10 on one count of knowingly making a false material declaration, records show.
Daniel Sepulveda, in the separate cocaine case, remains in federal custody, records show.
On Thursday, the Court granted Ariana Sepulveda a $80,000 bond, records show.
