Two Mexican nationals, Daniel Alfred Blanco-Joo and David Eliezer Seas-Centeno, have been brought to New Mexico to face federal drug trafficking charges. Both men made their initial court appearances after being removed from Mexico.
Blanco-Joo, 39, is charged with conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl, distribution of a fentanyl analogue, and international money laundering conspiracy. Seas-Centeno, 43, faces a charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Federal agents took custody of both individuals from Mexican authorities on January 21, 2026. If convicted, they each face a minimum sentence of 10 years and could receive up to life in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the development on behalf of the Homeland Security Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Hirsch and Blake Nichols.
The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. According to the announcement: "The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad." The statement continued: "Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders."
The HSTF places special emphasis on cases involving child trafficking or other crimes against children and works to prosecute and remove violent criminal aliens from the country. Region II CORE 7 of HSTF includes agents from multiple federal agencies such as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS, Customs and Border Protection (OFO), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Joint Task Force North (JTF-N), Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Marshal Service (USMS), Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS), El Paso Police Department (EPPD), New Mexico State Police (NMSP), West Texas / New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (HIDTA), Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Las Cruces/Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency—and is led by prosecutors from the Offices for Western Texas and New Mexico.
Indictments for both Blanco-Joo are available as well as for Seas-Centeno online. Authorities remind that an indictment is an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
