A Mexican national living illegally in Houston has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas.
Baldemar Navarro-Jaimes, 36, pleaded guilty on July 1, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. U.S. District Judge David S. Morales sentenced him to 234 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. Judge Morales highlighted the significant amount of drugs involved and the impact on communities.
Navarro-Jaimes was identified as a leader within a drug trafficking organization that transported narcotics from Mexican cartels into Houston and Dallas before distributing them further to cities including those in Illinois, New York, Georgia, and North Carolina. The group also moved firearms into Mexico for cartel use.
Authorities said Navarro-Jaimes arranged both narcotics and firearms transactions for the organization. He was directly linked to about nine kilograms of cocaine, 23 kilograms of methamphetamine, and over ten firearms.
Investigators found that he used a stash house in Dallas for drug activities. A search at another residence associated with him led to the seizure of four firearms, ammunition, and several cellphones.
Navarro-Jaimes remains in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler Foster, Liesel Roscher, and Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159: Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The task force brings together agencies such as ICE-HSI; FBI; DEA; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation/IRS; Interpol/Department of State; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; with prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas is part of the Department of Justice under the Attorney General's oversight and focuses on prosecuting federal crimes while handling civil cases involving government interests across its jurisdiction.
The office operates out of locations including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville across 43 counties, serving a population exceeding nine million people with more than 200 attorneys on staff. Its history includes leaders such as Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) and Ryan Patrick among others.
