One by one, federal authorities in the Rio Grande Valley and Tennessee this summer started dismantling a family of drug traffickers that allegedly includes a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who was assigned to Texas’ border security operation aimed at combating cartels and smugglers.
The arrests began in August here when federal authorities arrested brothers Pablo Talavera Sr. and Elias Talavera on drug trafficking charges out of Jackson, Tennessee.
Those men are the father and uncle of Pablo Talavera Jr., the state trooper charged with escorting loads of bulk cash, as well as heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.
Federal authorities also arrested Guillermo Castro, Roberto Garza, Luis Eduardo Sorcia and Jose Juhn Cordova in August, who are co-defendants in the Tennessee case.
All of those men are charged in a five-count indictment and the allegations against the men span from Aug. 1, 2019, through March 31, 2020.
The first count alleges they possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Count two alleges that on Nov. 21 and 22 in 2019, the brothers possessed with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Count three charges the brothers with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.
The fourth count is against the brothers, Castro and Garza and alleges that between Jan. 17 and 23, 2020, they possessed with the intent to distribute methamphetamine while the last count alleges that the brothers and Garza did the same between Feb. 17 and March 10, 2020.
A man named Ricardo De Los Santos De Leon is charged in all five counts, like the brothers, but it is not immediately clear whether he is in custody.
The indictment also includes a $1 million money judgment and seeks the forfeiture of properties, including in Edinburg, as well as a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab 2500.
If convicted, the men face not less than 10 years and up to life in prison.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
About a month after those arrests, federal authorities arrested the trooper’s sister-in-law, Alondra Jacqueline De Leon on a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering between May 26 and Sept. 16.
The complaint against her alleges she tried to collect on a drug debt owed to her father-in-law from a confidential source.
That source was contacted by Elias Talavera on May 26 regarding the sale of 1 kilogram of heroin and 2 kilograms of methamphetamine, which the confidential source was allowed to pay for at a later date, according to the complaint.
The source collected the drugs in Weslaco.
The complaint details how on June 22 Elias Talavera was arrested by Border Patrol on an immigration violation, which prompted his brother, Pablo Talavera, to contact the source to inform him that he would be collecting the payment on behalf of his brother.
Between July 14 and 23, Pablo Talavera collected $7,000 from the source and also explained to the source that his brother had been arrested on drug charges.
“On or about July 23, 2021, (Pablo) Talavera collected $5,000 from the (confidential source) and explained that the owner of the heroin and methamphetamine was from Mexico,” the complaint stated.
The feds then swooped in on Aug. 17 and arrested the brothers and their associates on the drug trafficking indictment out of Tennessee.
The Talavera family, however, continued seeking payment for the drugs and just two days after these arrests, De Leon contacted the confidential source and requested a meeting on her father-in-law’s behalf, according to the complaint.
During the meeting, she requested the money owed to her family, federal authorities allege.
A second meeting was held in early September where De Leon explained to the confidential source that her father-in-law was under arrest and that federal agents had raided their residence. She is also accused of collecting a $2,000 payment from the source, who still owed the family $28,000 for heroin, according to the complaint.
During a third meeting on Sept. 16 in a parking lot in Pharr, the confidential source paid De Leon $27,000 for the drugs and after that meeting, the Pharr Police Department in conjunction with the FBI conducted a traffic stop and arrested De Leon, the complaint said.
“De Leon explained that she collects drug proceeds for the (drug trafficking organization),” the complaint read. “Based on the investigation stated in this complaint, De Leon collected drug proceeds for the (drug trafficking organization) and utilized the proceeds for attorney fees and daily expenses.”
She was indicted on Oct. 19 on a charge of money laundering and on an allegation that she tried to export a LifeCard .22 caliber pistol into Mexico on Sept. 10.
De Leon has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Then, on Oct. 28, federal authorities arrested the 33-year-old DPS trooper on a charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance between May 26 and Sept. 16, the day of his sister-in-law’s arrest.
The complaint against the trooper also mentions Sept. 16, when the FBI says an unnamed cooperating defendant contacted the trooper about an impounded vehicle that had bulk cash in it, which belonged to his uncle.
“Talavera Jr. asked if the owner was trying to claim the money in the vehicle. Talavera Jr. told (cooperating defendant one) to tell the individual that they did not know anything,” the complaint stated.
The trooper is accused of using his status to search for law enforcement sensitive information, like vehicle registration and license plate information, on behalf of his family.
The May 26 date is also significant because that is the day the trooper’s uncle contacted the confidential source regarding the sale of heroin and methamphetamine.
The unidentified cooperating defendant also told investigators about the trooper’s father’s 2019 kidnapping by a drug cartel in Reynosa.
“Talavera family members gathered at the residence of Talavera Sr. and assessed Talavera Sr.’s kidnapping to be drug related,” the complaint said. “Present during the discussions was Talavera Jr.”
The FBI also says he admitted during a 2019 interview that he was aware that the Talavera family in Mexico was involved in organized crime.
The complaint does not specify what day that interviewed occurred.
As for his status with DPS, the agency would only say that its Office of Inspector General will conduct an administrative investigation to determine his future employment status.
He has been suspended, but it’s not immediately clear when he was suspended.
It’s also not clear whether the state of Texas is paying him during his suspension.
The Monitor learned that the trooper worked on Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security campaign that was initiated after President Joe Biden took office.
Those records indicate that Talavera made no arrests related to smuggling or illegal immigration and instead issued more than 200 warning and citations to more than 100 people between March 10 and April 21 for traffic violations. He also cited one person for possession of a controlled substance.
Those dates precede his alleged participation in his family’s alleged drug trafficking operation.
DPS hired the man in 2015.
