Mexican Politician Sentenced to 3 Years Behind Bars For Cocaine Trafficking in Texas

Ahumada served as a drug mule for the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

EL PASO, Texas — Former PAN councilwoman from Reynosa, Denisse Ahumada Martínez, was sentenced today by a federal judge from the Eastern District of Texas to 37 months in prison after being arrested at an international bridge with more than 90 pounds (42 kilos) of cocaine.

Ahumada was detained on June 10 of last year while attempting to enter the United States via the Hidalgo International Bridge in Falfurrias, Texas. After being sent for secondary inspection, Customs and Border Protection agents found 93 pounds of cocaine hidden in packages inside the vehicle, according to her formal indictment reviewed by SAGA.

In September of last year, Ahumada accepted a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors to receive a reduced sentence. Texas Judge Randy Crane sentenced Ahumada to just over 3 years in prison without bail. Ahumada may still appeal the decision denying her the benefit of parole, given her sentence is less than 5 years.

The drugs Ahumada was transporting had an estimated street value of approximately $900,000, according to prosecutors. The packages were hidden in the doors and seats of the SUV she was driving. At the time of her arrest, she was still serving as a councilwoman for the PAN in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

At the time of her arrest, Ahumada was traveling with her two daughters, aged two and five, under whose seats several packages were found, according to a transcript of her first hearing obtained by SAGA.

Ahumada, 34, initially claimed she was heading to San Antonio, Texas, and was unaware she was carrying drugs in the vehicle. However, later in a second interrogation, she admitted this was not the first time she had smuggled drugs across the same route, according to her court documents.

Months after her arrest, Ahumada's lawyer, Samuel Reyes, argued that the former councilwoman had acted under intimidation and threats from a cartel in Reynosa.

"They made death threats against her and her daughters and forced her to drive a vehicle that belonged to them," Ahumada's lawyer told several media outlets at the time.

However, during her first hearing, a DEA special agent in charge of Ahumada's case testified that during the interview, she admitted the car was in her name, that no one else had driven it on the day of her arrest, and that she was expecting a call to inform her where to deliver the load once she arrived in San Antonio.

External sources confirmed to SAGA that Ahumada served as a mule for the Gulf Cartel in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

Ahumada added that on one occasion, she had traveled to Houston to make a similar delivery in the same vehicle, but after it broke down, she decided to take a bus back to Mexico. Once back in her country, a cartel member she worked for called her and ordered her to return and retrieve the vehicle, to which Ahumada complied.

Even so, her defense argued that Ahumada knew she was "doing something illegal," but did not know exactly what. This argument was dismissed by the judge at the time.

The special agent added that Ahumada had three phones, one of which contained conversations with a man who was eventually identified as a member of a criminal organization in Mexico and who gave orders to the former councilwoman.