North Carolina Family Members Plead Guilty to Trafficking Firearms to Mexican Cartel (DOJ)

DEL RIO, Texas - A North Carolina man and his two sons pleaded guilty in a federal court in Del Rio to conspiring to traffic firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, Jose Manuel Najera, 54, of Elon, North Carolina, arrived for outbound inspection at the Del Rio Port of Entry on Oct. 31, 2024, driving a gray pickup truck. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recognized that an alert had been placed on the vehicle for suspicious border crossing history. Najera, appearing nervous, provided a negative declaration for weapons, ammunition, and currency over $10,000, and stated he was traveling to Allende, Coahuila, Mexico from North Carolina. At secondary inspection, a CBP officer removed and unrolled a black tarp out of the bed of Najera's truck, revealing a disassembled rifle along with a box magazine.

Najera subsequently claimed that he was driving to Mexico to help a friend tow a vehicle and did not know the firearm was concealed inside his vehicle. After being told that it was illegal to lie to federal agents, Najera stated that his son, Fernando Najera-Avalos, 26, had purchased the rifle in North Carolina to provide it to subjects in Mexico, specifically a subject named Hector, in Acuna. Najera was released from detainment.

A follow-up investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives revealed that, between June 2024 and October 2024, Najera made five trips between the United States and Mexico through the Del Rio Port of Entry. The trips typically occurred within a week after purchasing firearms. On those five occasions, Najera-Avalos purchased a total of 14 firearms, and his father, Najera, would take the trip to Mexico shortly after. Additionally, a text message between Najera and Najera-Avalos contained a screenshot of a text message wherein an unsaved Mexican phone number asked for 50 guns over a few months beginning in March 2024.

On July 30, 2025, Najera and Najera-Avalos were arrested and charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms. Najera-Avalos stated he had been in contact with the Sinaloa Cartel and was trafficking firearms for them due to debt he had accrued with the cartel. He added that he and his brother, Alonso Najera-Avalos, 22, would purchase the firearms and provide them to their father to transport into Mexico and give to the cartel. This led to the arrest of Alonso Najera-Avalos. In a post-arrest interview, Alonso Najera-Avalos admitted to owning the Sinaloa Cartel $70,000, and to conspiring with his father and brother to purchase and traffic firearms to Mexico.

Najera and the Najera-Avalos brothers all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms. They each face up to 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The ATF investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Duarte II is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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