Laredo felon gets maximum sentence for cartel-linked conspiracy to smuggle over 1900 aliens

LAREDO, Texas – A 35-year-old Laredo man has been ordered to prison for a multi-year conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens for financial gain, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Danny Nunez pleaded guilty Feb. 6, 2025. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now imposed a 120-month-term of imprisonment to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. The court also ordered Nunez to serve 12 months for a supervised release violation following a prior federal felony conviction to be served consecutively for a total sentence of 132 months. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence as to the prolific scope of Nunez’s leadership of a large-scale human smuggling organization that served as a “one-stop shop” for all the necessary actions to harbor and smuggle illegal aliens on the United States side of the border. Nunez worked directly with Cartel del Noreste to smuggle over 1,900 aliens which resulted in a substantial amount of illicit profits for both the CDN and Nunez. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the sophistication of the operation, commenting that this was the largest number of aliens smuggled and the most prolific smuggler she had seen. The investigation tied Nunez to multiple smuggling events since March 2023, including one the following December when authorities observed several people being loaded into a white trailer at a warehouse. A subsequent search uncovered 101 aliens, including 12 unaccompanied minors locked inside the trailer. Several of them reported having difficulty breathing and feared for their lives due to the trailer’s conditions. At the time of Nunez’s arrest, authorities searched his home and found cellphones, ledgers documenting smuggling activity, more than $36,000 in proceeds and two illegal aliens on the premises. He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.