The following information was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of Texas.
A federal jury in Del Rio convicted a Dale man on two counts of firearms trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bobby Brandon Galvan, also known as “Puravidarecia,” 30, was affiliated with
the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel and straw purchased numerous weapons, including an AK-47 rifle that was later recovered after being used in a shootout between cartel members and Mexican law enforcement.
On Feb. 20, 2025, La Nueva Familia Michoacana was officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity by the U.S. Department of State.
An investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that between Sept. 16, 2023, and April 14, 2024, Galvan purchased 24 AK-47-style firearms, all of which ended up in Toluca, Mexico, for use by Mexican cartels. At trial, leaders of the criminal conspiracy were identified as Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, also known as “El Pez,” and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, also known as “El Fresa.”
Galvan’s straw purchasing activity was part of a larger criminal operation carried out by La Nueva Familia Michoacana, a transnational criminal organization. In his role, Galvan purchased firearms, attempted to obliterate their serial numbers and transferred the weapons to co-conspirators who trafficked them into Mexico.
Galvan was arrested July 29, 2025, and indicted Aug. 20 on one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms and one count of straw purchase of firearms. He is one of 26 defendants indicted on charges ranging from firearms trafficking to illegal alien smuggling to money laundering.
Galvan faces up to 40 years in federal prison for each count. Eighteen of the indicted co-conspirators have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses is presiding over the case.
“This trial is significant in that, not only did it trace two dozen rifles from a Texas town to a Mexican cartel, but it is one of the first trials in the nation to involve a conspiracy to traffic firearms under the relatively new firearms trafficking statute,” Simmons said.
“This conviction underscores ATF and our law enforcement partners’ unwavering commitment to stopping the flow of illegal firearms from our communities into the hands of violent cartel organizations,” said ATF Houston Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel.
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to dismantling the networks that supply weapons to violent transnational criminal organizations,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco of HSI San Antonio.
“I would like to highlight the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ critical role in our Homeland Security Task Force efforts,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Alex Doran of the FBI San Antonio Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Brett Miner are prosecuting the case.
