Laredo Weapons Trafficking Coordinator Pleads Guilty to Charges for Conspiring to Smuggle Military Grade Firearms to Mexican Drug Cartel

SAN ANTONIO – A Laredo man pleaded guilty in a federal court in San Antonio today to four conspiracy counts related to his role as the coordinator for a weapons trafficking organization that illegally obtained hundreds of firearms and smuggled them from the U.S. to Mexico in support of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN).

According to court documents, Gerardo Rafael Perez Jr. aka Jerry, 24, and his network of straw purchasers illicitly obtained the firearms, including FNH SCAR rifles, Barrett .50 caliber rifles, FNH M249S rifles, M240s and M1919s, from gun stores and unlicensed dealers in San Antonio and other Texas cities. They also acquired FightLite MCR belt-fed upper receivers, which allow standard AR-15 lower receivers to use belt-fed ammunition and provide for a greater capacity of continuous fire before reloading. Perez directed the acquisition, trafficking, and illegal export of guns and parts in support of the cartel, all without an export license or a license to deal firearms.

Agents searched the cell phones of multiple straw purchasers of firearms who were receiving directions from Perez, revealing communications in which Perez sent instructions on specific guns to buy from specific sellers across Texas. On one occasion, a straw purchaser purchased six firearms for Perez in San Antonio with nearly $50,000 in cash, including three FN SCAR 17S 7.62 caliber rifles, an FN SCAR 20S 7.62 caliber rifle, an FN M249S belt-fed rifle 5.56 caliber, and a Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber rifle, all of which Perez acquired for the purpose of delivery to Mexico. Communications showed Perez telling another straw purchaser he was obliterating serial numbers from trafficked guns so there was no way the gun could be tracked to the original seller.

On Sept. 26, 2023, law enforcement conducted a search of Perez’s residence and recovered multiple firearms and various types of ammunition, blank ATF Form 4473s, and CDN jewelry. Agents seized and searched Perez’s cell phone and found photos depicting him in tactical gear and wearing CDN jewelry, as well as photos of numerous guns. His phone also contained messages in which Perez solicited firearms, coordinated their purchase, and negotiated prices with sellers.

Perez was arrested March 20, 2024, along with co-defendants Antonio Osiel Casarez, Luis Matias Leal, Francisco Alejandro Benavides Jr., and Mark Anthony Trevino Jr. Three other co-defendants, Gerardo Ibarra Jr., Gerardo Corona Jr., and Jose Emigdio Q. Mendoza were named in an earlier indictment and arrested in 2023. The ninth and tenth co-defendants, Armando Mata Jr., and Felipe Vasquez III, were charged in a superseding indictment and arrested in March 2025.

Perez pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to traffic firearms, conspiracy to straw purchase firearms, conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States, and conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces up to 25 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Calve 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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