Publisher’s Note: The following information was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of Texas.
A Mexican national was sentenced in federal court in Del Rio to 84 months in prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons announced.
According to court documents, Martin Edgar Garza Pacheco, 42, of Melchor Múzquiz, Coahuila, was arrested at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry following an investigation into the trafficking of firearms from the United States into Mexico.
Investigators determined Garza Pacheco used co-conspirators Shiddartha Salinas Avila and Victor Ulysses Ybarra-Daniels to purchase a total of 36 firearms at retail stores in the San Antonio area. After the firearms were purchased, Garza Pacheco would travel from Mexico to San Antonio through the Eagle Pass Port of Entry and then smuggle the firearms back into Mexico in his vehicle.
Garza Pacheco was arrested April 22, 2023, and charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms. He pleaded guilty to the indictment on Aug. 21, 2023.
Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses presided over the case.
Ybarra-Daniels was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on Oct. 8, while Salinas Avila was sentenced to 42 months on Nov. 3, 2025.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nallely Duarte and Daisy Gonzalez prosecuted the case.
