El Salvadoran Men Arrested in New Mexico on Federal Cocaine Trafficking Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Remberto Guzman-Dominguez, 33, and Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Flores, 47, both of El Salvador, made their initial appearances today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging them with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.  Both men remain in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing which have not yet been scheduled.

Guzman-Dominguez and Rodriguez-Flores were arrested on Nov. 14, 2015, on a criminal complaint after officers of the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police allegedly found approximately 124 pounds (56.36 kilograms) of cocaine in their tractor trailer during a routine inspection at the port of entry on Interstate 10 near Lordsburg, N.M.

If convicted of the charge in the criminal complaint, Guzman-Dominguez and Rodriguez-Flores each face a maximum statutory penalty of not less than ten years or more than life in federal prison.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce of Homeland Security Investigations, the New Mexico Motor Transportation Police and the New Mexico State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.