New Mexico
Dem judge in New Mexico steps down after man with alleged Tren de Aragua ties found in his home
A New Mexico judge tendered his resignation last month after immigration authorities detained a suspect with alleged ties to the Tren de Aragua in his home during a late February raid.
Federal agents at the Department of Homeland Security had raided former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Jose “Joel” Cano’s home on Feb. 28 and arrested 23-year-old Venezuelan national Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, court documents reveal.
Authorities also confiscated four firearms from the Cano’s daughter’s residence, which they conducted after obtaining search warrants in response to social media evidence of Ortega-Lopez’s ties to Tren de Aragua, the ruthless Venezuelan prison gang.
Cano, a Democrat who served as a judge since 2011, made no mention of the arrest in his resignation letter, which came days later on March 3.
“Working with each of you has been a very rewarding experience for which I will remain eternally grateful,” Cano wrote in his resignation letter obtained by The Post. “All the best to everyone of you. I wish all of you a happy retirement once you are ready yourself.”
A spokesperson for New Mexico’s Administrative Office of the Courts explained that the state supreme court and the Third Judicial District Court, where Cano was based,” did not receive his resignation until March 31.
Revelations about the alleged gangbanger living in Cano’s residence were first made in court documents seeking to keep Ortega-Lopez in detention. The story has since gained traction in local media, including the Albuquerque Journal newspaper.
Ortega-Lopez began interacting with Cano’s family a little over a year ago after helping the judge’s wife install a glass door and doing other odd jobs for her.
By April of last year, he was booted from his apartment in El Paso that he shared with five others, which prompted Nancy Cano, the judge’s wife, to offer him lodging in the “casita” of their home in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
During his stay, Ortega-Lopez seemingly began to bond with the judge’s daughter, April Cano, “who possessed a large number of firearms” and let him hold onto some of them, per court records.
Ortega-Lopez, who illegally entered the US in 2023 but was released from a US Customs and Border Patrol facility due to overcrowding, admitted that he knew he wasn’t allowed to possess firearms due to his status as an illegal immigrant.
He had climbed over a barbed-wire fence near Eagle Pass, Texas, and copped to illegally entering the US, per court documents.
Authorities had received a tip about Ortega-Lopez and found images of him on social media with tattoos, with clothing and making hand gestures “commonly associated” with Tren de Aragua, court filings claim.
Prosecutors attached images of Ortega-Lopez’s tattoos and other evidence they are leaning on to accuse him of affiliation with Tren de Aragua.
“The Defendant is a danger to the community because he is a member of the United States designated Foreign Terrorist Organization Tren de Aragua and regularly associates with other members,” they wrote in a filing to keep him detained.
Ortega-Lopez was arrested alongside three other Venezuelan illegal migrants as part of an operation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.
The Post was unable to make contact with Joel Cano for comment.
“The governor will appoint someone to fill the vacancy through the remainder of the judge’s unexpired four-year term that runs until the end of 2026,” New Mexico’s Administrative Office of the Courts spokesperson Barry Massey told the Post.
“Magistrate court judges are elective positions and they will be on the ballot in 2026.”
Ortega-Lopez is charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm or ammunition. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years behind bars, according to the Justice Department.
New Mexico leaders are backing a bipartisan bill after 12 confirmed U.S. screwworm cases, including one case in a Lea County dog.
SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico leaders are backing a bipartisan bill after 12 confirmed U.S. screwworm cases, including one case in a Lea County dog.
New Mexico State Veterinarian Dr. Samantha Holeck said the parasite has spread to New Mexico, though officials say they have not found any human cases.
“This is also not a political issue this is a nationwide issue that we all need to address because it affects all warm blooded animals including humans,” Holeck said.
U.S. Reps. Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernandez support the Protect America’s Herds Act.
The bill would create a grant program to train people to identify, treat, prevent and report screwworm. It would also support more livestock inspections and education for ranchers.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez said she heard concerns from tribal leaders about the cost of protecting cattle herds.
“I spoke with one of our tribal leaders today and they have cattle operation and they’re worried, and they’re talking about how much more money they’re having to pay to go make sure they check on their herds and there are extra costs,” Leger Fernandez said.
Funding would prioritize states and tribal communities most at risk for screwworm outbreaks.
State health officials said screwworm is not a food safety issue. They also said ranchers should stay alert but not alarmed.
New Mexico isn’t done with Meta yet. After the second phase of a landmark trial, the state is asking a judge to make the company pay almost $1 billion to address harm done to young people in New Mexico, SourceNM reports. In a court filing, attorneys with the New Mexico Department of Justice argue that Meta’s addictive design features and recommendation algorithms “substantially contributed to the increase and severity” of problems including depression and eating disorders. The state wants a judge to order Meta to pay $953 million into a fund for public education and behavioral health programs, reports Fox News.
- After the first phase of the trial in March, a jury found the company endangered children and misled the public about its platforms’ safety. Meta was ordered to pay $375 million in damages, $5,000 for each violation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has argued Meta executives prioritized profit over minors’ safety, ignored internal warnings, and misrepresented what they knew about harms to young users. In the second phase, First Judicial District Court Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid heard arguments on whether the company’s actions created a public nuisance, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. Final filings in that phase of the trial were submitted Friday. Beyond potential financial penalties, Biedscheid will also rule on the state’s request for Meta to make changes including stricter age controls and “safer algorithms” that “do not prioritize engagement over well being.”
Meta says New Mexico is overreaching, warning that the proposed mandates are “impractical and ill-considered” and “would risk leaving teens less safe, infringe on parental rights, and stifle free expression.” Meta argues that New Mexico hasn’t proven that its platforms affect mental health outcomes. In court filings, Meta has claimed that the state is seeking $3.7 billion, not $953 million, but Chief Deputy Attorney General James Grayson says the higher figure is an expert’s estimate of the cost to fund all child mental health interventions in the state. “We’re not trying to hold Meta responsible for mental health harms in general in New Mexico, only for what social media has cost,” Grayson tells the New Mexican.
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