Nicholas J. Ganjei United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas
A former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, Emanuel Isac Celedon, has been sentenced to federal prison for his participation in smuggling illegal aliens and receiving bribes from a cartel. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced that Celedon, a resident of Laredo, Texas, received the sentence for allowing aliens and cocaine to cross the border illegally.
Celedon, 37, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2024, to charges related to smuggling illegal aliens into the United States via the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry in Laredo. He also admitted to bribery and the attempted importation of cocaine. U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana sentenced him to 117 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered a money judgment of $17,980.
Judge Saldana stated that Celedon failed in his duty to protect the United States from unauthorized people and controlled substances. She noted his deep involvement in the organization and his apparent willingness to become more entrenched.
"Anybody who aids or works for the cartel is going to find themselves on the wrong end of a federal indictment," Ganjei said. He emphasized the contrast between Celedon's actions and the work of other CBP officers tasked with border security.
During 2023, Celedon sought alliances within the Cartel del Noreste to smuggle drugs and aliens through his lane in exchange for payment. In an undercover operation, he planned the smuggling of cocaine, providing schedules and directions to allow a vehicle believed to carry cocaine to pass unchecked.
Further investigations revealed that Celedon collaborated with Mexican nationals, including Homero Romero-Hernandez and Jose Osvaldo Zapata-Vasquez, to smuggle aliens into the U.S. Celedon disclosed his lane assignments to them, facilitating illegal entries. Another collaborator, Beatris Guadalupe Martinez, acted as a driver, transporting individuals through Celedon's lane on at least nine occasions.
Celedon falsified entries in a CBP database to prevent secondary inspections of Martinez's vehicle and assured his partners of his compliance. The investigation showed $1,980 recovered during his arrest were proceeds from smuggling activities.
Judge Saldana previously sentenced Zapata-Vasquez, Romero-Hernandez, and Martinez to 46, 36, and 42 months in prison, respectively. Celedon remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.
The investigation was carried out by several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with involvement from Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations to combat human smuggling and trafficking.
The effort forms part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative leveraging OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhood resources to combat illegal immigration and dismantle criminal organizations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Day and Arthur R. Jones led the prosecution of the cases.
