A former judge from New Mexico and his wife were arrested on Thursday after the capture of a suspected member of the violent Tren de Aragua gang at their home the week prior.
Joel Cano, a former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge, and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody in Las Cruces, according to a press release from Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso.
Cano resigned the week before after federal immigration agents detained Cristian Ortega-Lopez, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, at their home. Ortega-Lopez, 23, had entered the U.S. illegally and was released on immigration parole by the Biden Administration in 2022. He now faces charges related to evidence tampering, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Ortega-Lopez, believed to be connected to the Venezuelan gang, later traveled to El Paso, Texas, where he became acquainted with Nancy Cano. Joel Cano, a former police officer turned judge, allowed Ortega-Lopez to use his address to submit an immigration relief request.
Court documents show photos of Ortega-Lopez with the judge, while social media content obtained by federal prosecutors revealed Ortega-Lopez and other undocumented individuals at a shooting range with firearms and ammunition. In one photo, Ortega-Lopez is holding an AR-15-style rifle and a semiautomatic handgun. Another video allegedly shows him firing an AR-15 equipped with a suppressor until the magazine was empty before quickly reloading and resuming fire.