The sister-in-law of a former state trooper admitted on Thursday to conspiring to launder money in her family’s alleged drug trafficking enterprise.
Alondra Jacqueline De Leon entered a guilty plea to the first count of an indictment that also implicates her brother-in-law, former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Pablo Talavera Jr., who previously worked on Operation Lone Star, Texas’ border security initiative.
Talavera was charged with conspiring to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for De Leon and the last action in Talavera’s case was a June 8 sealed event.
The indictment against Talavera alleges that he became involved in his family’s drug trafficking organization on Aug. 19, 2019. The initial complaint against him had set the timeline of the allegations between May 26 and Sept. 16, 2021, though that document notes the FBI initially interviewed him on an unspecified day in 2019.
Authorities arrested Talavera on Oct. 28, 2021.
The Monitor confirmed through public information requests that Talavera worked during Operation Lone Star and issued more than 200 warnings or citations for traffic violations as part of the border enforcement efforts.
Federal authorities allege Talavera’s criminal activity was a family affair.
The trooper’s father, uncle and three other men are facing federal drug charges in Tennessee that are related to his case.
Federal prosecutors accuse Talavera of escorting drug loads and bulk currency for his father, and helping him search sensitive law enforcement information, including license plates and vehicle registrations.
The initial complaint also alleges the former trooper was present at a family gathering, where his father’s 2019 kidnapping by a cartel in Reynosa was discussed. That document also said Talavera admitted during the 2019 interview with the FBI that the Talavera family in Mexico was involved in organized crime.
He has entered a not guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
