By LAURA B. MARTINEZ and MARK REAGAN, Staff Writer
A member of the Gulf Cartel has pleaded guilty to a charge that he helped smuggle marijuana from Mexico to the United States, authorities said.
Rene Garcia-Cantu appeared Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. and entered a guilty plea to an indictment that charged him with possession with intent to distribute a quantity of marijuana about 235 kilograms or 518 pounds of marijuana in violation of federal law.
As part of his plea agreement, Garcia-Cantu must “fully cooperate as used herein, includes providing all information relating to any criminal activity known to defendant, including but no limited to the specific facts of the present offense. The defendant understands that such information includes both state and federal offenses arising therefrom.”
According to a fact summary from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Garcia-Cantu was arrested on July 17, 2019, for illegal entry. He had been under investigation by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration for narcotics smuggling over several years, officials said.
The summary states that Garcia-Cantu agreed to speak to the DEA agents and initially denied being involved in narcotics trafficking. But after a surveillance photo of him was shown from two weeks before his arrest, he admitted to being involved in drug trafficking. Garcia-Cantu admitted to helping smuggle drugs between Carricitos, Texas, and Los Indios, Texas. Carricitos is about seven miles southwest of San Benito, near Highway 281 and FM 2520.
Garcia-Cantu told the agents that he was responsible for smuggling 518 pounds of marijuana on Feb. 10, 2016 that was later seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents. The summary states the Garcia-Cantu admitted to being involved with the Gulf Cartel and helped them smuggle marijuana along the U.S-Mexico border from January 2016 to January 2019.
According to a July 19, 2019, criminal complaint filed against Garcia-Cantu, he’s accused of smuggling nearly 2,000 pounds of marijuana a week into Cameron County for several years.
The charging document states Garcia-Cantu admitted to being in charge of smuggling marijuana in the Los Indios area and made an annual profit of $302,400.
According to the criminal complaint, he held the leadership role in the Gulf Cartel from Jan. 2016 to Jan. 2019.
If what prosecutors say Garcia-Cantu told them is true, he is responsible for coordinating the smuggling of approximately 309,504 pounds of marijuana during a three-year period for a profit of $907,200.
Garcia-Cantu is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 9. He remains in federal custody.
