EL PASO – A defendant in a marijuana and cocaine conspiracy case was sentenced on Wednesday to nine years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.
According to court documents, Vicente Montoya, aka “Vicente Fabela Montoya,” “Chente,” 46, of Socorro, was a member of a drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Carlos Moreno-Reyes, aka “Charlie Brown” from October 2008 until April 2019. The DTO operated in the El Paso area and was responsible for transporting and distributing marijuana and cocaine from El Paso to destination cities, including Oklahoma City. Montoya admitted that he received approximately $1,800,400 in drug proceeds in his role in the DTO.
/**
* SNN Article Link Cleanup & Display Stability
* Disable BOTH "Link Cleaner" and "WP Perf" before activating.
* Paste into Code Snippets as PHP; run everywhere.
*
* Standard RSS feeds, REST output, schema and article identifiers
* are not rewritten. Requires WordPress 6.2+ for link cleanup.
*/
if ( ! class_exists( 'SNN_Safe_Display_20261031', false ) ) {
final class SNN_Safe_Display_20261031 {
public static function boot() {
add_action( 'init', array( __CLASS__, 'head_cleanup' ), 20 );
add_filter( 'the_content', array( __CLASS__, 'article_links' ), 99 );
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', array( __CLASS__, 'display_css' ), 100 );
}
public static function head_cleanup() {
if ( is_admin() ) {
return;
}
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'wp_generator' );
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );
}
public static function skip_request() {
return is_admin()
|| is_feed()
|| is_trackback()
|| ( defined( 'REST_REQUEST' ) && REST_REQUEST )
|| wp_doing_ajax()
|| is_preview();
}
/**
* Remove UTM parameters while preserving other query parameters,
* their order, encoding and the URL fragment.
*/
public static function clean_url( $url ) {
if ( ! is_string( $url ) || $url === '' ) {
return $url;
}
// Preserve non-web schemes such as mailto:, tel: and data:.
if (
preg_match( '/^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i', $url )
&& ! preg_match( '~^https?://~i', $url )
) {
return $url;
}
$parts = explode( '#', $url, 2 );
$base = explode( '?', $parts[0], 2 );
if ( count( $base ) !== 2 ) {
return $url;
}
$pairs = explode( '&', $base[1] );
// Preserve commonly signed URLs.
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = strtolower( urldecode( $parameter[0] ) );
if (
in_array(
$key,
array(
'signature',
'sig',
'x-amz-signature',
'x-goog-signature',
),
true
)
) {
return $url;
}
}
$kept = array();
$changed = false;
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = urldecode( $parameter[0] );
if ( stripos( $key, 'utm_' ) === 0 ) {
$changed = true;
continue;
}
$kept[] = $pair;
}
if ( ! $changed ) {
return $url;
}
$query = implode( '&', $kept );
return $base[0]
. ( $query !== '' ? '?' . $query : '' )
. ( isset( $parts[1] ) ? '#' . $parts[1] : '' );
}
/**
* Clean anchor URLs in displayed single-post content only.
* Do not buffer or rewrite the full page or feed response.
*/
public static function article_links( $html ) {
if (
! is_string( $html )
|| self::skip_request()
|| ! is_singular( 'post' )
|| ! in_the_loop()
|| ! is_main_query()
|| apply_filters( 'snn_safe_display_skip_links', false )
|| ! class_exists( 'WP_HTML_Tag_Processor' )
) {
return $html;
}
$processor = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( $html );
while ( $processor->next_tag( 'A' ) ) {
$href = $processor->get_attribute( 'href' );
if ( ! is_string( $href ) ) {
continue;
}
$clean = self::clean_url( $href );
if ( $clean !== $href ) {
$processor->set_attribute( 'href', $clean );
}
}
return $processor->get_updated_html();
}
public static function display_css() {
if ( self::skip_request() || ! is_singular( 'post' ) ) {
return;
}
/*
* Space reservations apply only to ad wrappers with these classes.
* Adjust the heights to match your actual ad placements.
* Unfilled ad slots can retain blank space.
*/
$css = '
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-inarticle {
min-height: 280px;
}
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 280px;
}
.entry-content p.wp-block-paragraph {
overflow-wrap: break-word;
}
@media (max-width: 921px) {
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 100px;
}
}
';
wp_register_style(
'snn-safe-display',
false,
array(),
'1.0.0'
);
wp_enqueue_style( 'snn-safe-display' );
wp_add_inline_style( 'snn-safe-display', $css );
}
}
SNN_Safe_Display_20261031::boot();
}
On October 4, 2021, Montoya pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. In addition to his prison sentence, Montoya was ordered to pay a $1,800,400 money judgment.
Other members of the DTO included Carlos Moreno-Reyes, aka “Charlie Brown,” 46, of Clint; Jose Luis Ortiz-Valenzuela, aka “Pelon,” 37, of Avondale, AZ; Julio Adrian Terrazas, aka “JT,” 31, of Fabens; Edgar Sanchez, aka “Siez,” “Chavalito,” 31, of Fabens; Jacinto Olivas-Cervantes, aka “Chente,” “Chinto,” 53, of San Elizario; Oliva Beltran-Paez, 34, of Clint; and Rey Anthony Garza, aka “Ray Anthony Garza,” “Flaco,” 51, of Fabens.
“I am thankful for the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners that enable us to work together to prosecute not only individual drug traffickers, but also to take down large drug trafficking organizations such as this one,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff.
“The successful conclusion of this case exemplifies HSI’s commitment to disrupting extremely dangerous supply chains of drugs that poison people,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho. “The resolve of HSI special agents to curb drug trafficking, which drives violence in our communities, undoubtedly saves lives.”
/**
* SNN Article Link Cleanup & Display Stability
* Disable BOTH "Link Cleaner" and "WP Perf" before activating.
* Paste into Code Snippets as PHP; run everywhere.
*
* Standard RSS feeds, REST output, schema and article identifiers
* are not rewritten. Requires WordPress 6.2+ for link cleanup.
*/
if ( ! class_exists( 'SNN_Safe_Display_20261031', false ) ) {
final class SNN_Safe_Display_20261031 {
public static function boot() {
add_action( 'init', array( __CLASS__, 'head_cleanup' ), 20 );
add_filter( 'the_content', array( __CLASS__, 'article_links' ), 99 );
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', array( __CLASS__, 'display_css' ), 100 );
}
public static function head_cleanup() {
if ( is_admin() ) {
return;
}
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'wp_generator' );
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );
}
public static function skip_request() {
return is_admin()
|| is_feed()
|| is_trackback()
|| ( defined( 'REST_REQUEST' ) && REST_REQUEST )
|| wp_doing_ajax()
|| is_preview();
}
/**
* Remove UTM parameters while preserving other query parameters,
* their order, encoding and the URL fragment.
*/
public static function clean_url( $url ) {
if ( ! is_string( $url ) || $url === '' ) {
return $url;
}
// Preserve non-web schemes such as mailto:, tel: and data:.
if (
preg_match( '/^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i', $url )
&& ! preg_match( '~^https?://~i', $url )
) {
return $url;
}
$parts = explode( '#', $url, 2 );
$base = explode( '?', $parts[0], 2 );
if ( count( $base ) !== 2 ) {
return $url;
}
$pairs = explode( '&', $base[1] );
// Preserve commonly signed URLs.
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = strtolower( urldecode( $parameter[0] ) );
if (
in_array(
$key,
array(
'signature',
'sig',
'x-amz-signature',
'x-goog-signature',
),
true
)
) {
return $url;
}
}
$kept = array();
$changed = false;
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = urldecode( $parameter[0] );
if ( stripos( $key, 'utm_' ) === 0 ) {
$changed = true;
continue;
}
$kept[] = $pair;
}
if ( ! $changed ) {
return $url;
}
$query = implode( '&', $kept );
return $base[0]
. ( $query !== '' ? '?' . $query : '' )
. ( isset( $parts[1] ) ? '#' . $parts[1] : '' );
}
/**
* Clean anchor URLs in displayed single-post content only.
* Do not buffer or rewrite the full page or feed response.
*/
public static function article_links( $html ) {
if (
! is_string( $html )
|| self::skip_request()
|| ! is_singular( 'post' )
|| ! in_the_loop()
|| ! is_main_query()
|| apply_filters( 'snn_safe_display_skip_links', false )
|| ! class_exists( 'WP_HTML_Tag_Processor' )
) {
return $html;
}
$processor = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( $html );
while ( $processor->next_tag( 'A' ) ) {
$href = $processor->get_attribute( 'href' );
if ( ! is_string( $href ) ) {
continue;
}
$clean = self::clean_url( $href );
if ( $clean !== $href ) {
$processor->set_attribute( 'href', $clean );
}
}
return $processor->get_updated_html();
}
public static function display_css() {
if ( self::skip_request() || ! is_singular( 'post' ) ) {
return;
}
/*
* Space reservations apply only to ad wrappers with these classes.
* Adjust the heights to match your actual ad placements.
* Unfilled ad slots can retain blank space.
*/
$css = '
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-inarticle {
min-height: 280px;
}
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 280px;
}
.entry-content p.wp-block-paragraph {
overflow-wrap: break-word;
}
@media (max-width: 921px) {
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 100px;
}
}
';
wp_register_style(
'snn-safe-display',
false,
array(),
'1.0.0'
);
wp_enqueue_style( 'snn-safe-display' );
wp_add_inline_style( 'snn-safe-display', $css );
}
}
SNN_Safe_Display_20261031::boot();
}
On February 26, 2020, Moreno pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute and one count of bulk cash smuggling. On November 15, 2021, Moreno was sentenced to 204 months in prison and ordered to pay a money judgment of $25,587,400.
Sanchez and Ortiz-Valenzuela pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. On March 11, 2020, Sanchez was sentenced to 120 months in prison. On July 17, 2020, Ortiz-Valenzuela was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
/**
* SNN Article Link Cleanup & Display Stability
* Disable BOTH "Link Cleaner" and "WP Perf" before activating.
* Paste into Code Snippets as PHP; run everywhere.
*
* Standard RSS feeds, REST output, schema and article identifiers
* are not rewritten. Requires WordPress 6.2+ for link cleanup.
*/
if ( ! class_exists( 'SNN_Safe_Display_20261031', false ) ) {
final class SNN_Safe_Display_20261031 {
public static function boot() {
add_action( 'init', array( __CLASS__, 'head_cleanup' ), 20 );
add_filter( 'the_content', array( __CLASS__, 'article_links' ), 99 );
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', array( __CLASS__, 'display_css' ), 100 );
}
public static function head_cleanup() {
if ( is_admin() ) {
return;
}
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'wp_generator' );
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );
}
public static function skip_request() {
return is_admin()
|| is_feed()
|| is_trackback()
|| ( defined( 'REST_REQUEST' ) && REST_REQUEST )
|| wp_doing_ajax()
|| is_preview();
}
/**
* Remove UTM parameters while preserving other query parameters,
* their order, encoding and the URL fragment.
*/
public static function clean_url( $url ) {
if ( ! is_string( $url ) || $url === '' ) {
return $url;
}
// Preserve non-web schemes such as mailto:, tel: and data:.
if (
preg_match( '/^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i', $url )
&& ! preg_match( '~^https?://~i', $url )
) {
return $url;
}
$parts = explode( '#', $url, 2 );
$base = explode( '?', $parts[0], 2 );
if ( count( $base ) !== 2 ) {
return $url;
}
$pairs = explode( '&', $base[1] );
// Preserve commonly signed URLs.
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = strtolower( urldecode( $parameter[0] ) );
if (
in_array(
$key,
array(
'signature',
'sig',
'x-amz-signature',
'x-goog-signature',
),
true
)
) {
return $url;
}
}
$kept = array();
$changed = false;
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = urldecode( $parameter[0] );
if ( stripos( $key, 'utm_' ) === 0 ) {
$changed = true;
continue;
}
$kept[] = $pair;
}
if ( ! $changed ) {
return $url;
}
$query = implode( '&', $kept );
return $base[0]
. ( $query !== '' ? '?' . $query : '' )
. ( isset( $parts[1] ) ? '#' . $parts[1] : '' );
}
/**
* Clean anchor URLs in displayed single-post content only.
* Do not buffer or rewrite the full page or feed response.
*/
public static function article_links( $html ) {
if (
! is_string( $html )
|| self::skip_request()
|| ! is_singular( 'post' )
|| ! in_the_loop()
|| ! is_main_query()
|| apply_filters( 'snn_safe_display_skip_links', false )
|| ! class_exists( 'WP_HTML_Tag_Processor' )
) {
return $html;
}
$processor = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( $html );
while ( $processor->next_tag( 'A' ) ) {
$href = $processor->get_attribute( 'href' );
if ( ! is_string( $href ) ) {
continue;
}
$clean = self::clean_url( $href );
if ( $clean !== $href ) {
$processor->set_attribute( 'href', $clean );
}
}
return $processor->get_updated_html();
}
public static function display_css() {
if ( self::skip_request() || ! is_singular( 'post' ) ) {
return;
}
/*
* Space reservations apply only to ad wrappers with these classes.
* Adjust the heights to match your actual ad placements.
* Unfilled ad slots can retain blank space.
*/
$css = '
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-inarticle {
min-height: 280px;
}
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 280px;
}
.entry-content p.wp-block-paragraph {
overflow-wrap: break-word;
}
@media (max-width: 921px) {
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 100px;
}
}
';
wp_register_style(
'snn-safe-display',
false,
array(),
'1.0.0'
);
wp_enqueue_style( 'snn-safe-display' );
wp_add_inline_style( 'snn-safe-display', $css );
}
}
SNN_Safe_Display_20261031::boot();
}
Olivas-Cervantes and Terrazas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute. On February 25, 2020, Olivas was sentenced to 30 months in prison. On July 20, 2020, Terrazas was sentenced to 46 months in prison.
Beltran-Paez, pleaded guilty to one count of bulk cash smuggling. On February 28, 2020, Beltran was sentenced to five years of probation.
Garza pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute and one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. On April 6, 2021, Garza was sentenced to 108 months in prison.
HSI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andres Ortega prosecuted the case.
###
/**
* SNN Article Link Cleanup & Display Stability
* Disable BOTH "Link Cleaner" and "WP Perf" before activating.
* Paste into Code Snippets as PHP; run everywhere.
*
* Standard RSS feeds, REST output, schema and article identifiers
* are not rewritten. Requires WordPress 6.2+ for link cleanup.
*/
if ( ! class_exists( 'SNN_Safe_Display_20261031', false ) ) {
final class SNN_Safe_Display_20261031 {
public static function boot() {
add_action( 'init', array( __CLASS__, 'head_cleanup' ), 20 );
add_filter( 'the_content', array( __CLASS__, 'article_links' ), 99 );
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', array( __CLASS__, 'display_css' ), 100 );
}
public static function head_cleanup() {
if ( is_admin() ) {
return;
}
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'wp_generator' );
remove_action( 'wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7 );
remove_action( 'wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles' );
}
public static function skip_request() {
return is_admin()
|| is_feed()
|| is_trackback()
|| ( defined( 'REST_REQUEST' ) && REST_REQUEST )
|| wp_doing_ajax()
|| is_preview();
}
/**
* Remove UTM parameters while preserving other query parameters,
* their order, encoding and the URL fragment.
*/
public static function clean_url( $url ) {
if ( ! is_string( $url ) || $url === '' ) {
return $url;
}
// Preserve non-web schemes such as mailto:, tel: and data:.
if (
preg_match( '/^[a-z][a-z0-9+.-]*:/i', $url )
&& ! preg_match( '~^https?://~i', $url )
) {
return $url;
}
$parts = explode( '#', $url, 2 );
$base = explode( '?', $parts[0], 2 );
if ( count( $base ) !== 2 ) {
return $url;
}
$pairs = explode( '&', $base[1] );
// Preserve commonly signed URLs.
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = strtolower( urldecode( $parameter[0] ) );
if (
in_array(
$key,
array(
'signature',
'sig',
'x-amz-signature',
'x-goog-signature',
),
true
)
) {
return $url;
}
}
$kept = array();
$changed = false;
foreach ( $pairs as $pair ) {
$parameter = explode( '=', $pair, 2 );
$key = urldecode( $parameter[0] );
if ( stripos( $key, 'utm_' ) === 0 ) {
$changed = true;
continue;
}
$kept[] = $pair;
}
if ( ! $changed ) {
return $url;
}
$query = implode( '&', $kept );
return $base[0]
. ( $query !== '' ? '?' . $query : '' )
. ( isset( $parts[1] ) ? '#' . $parts[1] : '' );
}
/**
* Clean anchor URLs in displayed single-post content only.
* Do not buffer or rewrite the full page or feed response.
*/
public static function article_links( $html ) {
if (
! is_string( $html )
|| self::skip_request()
|| ! is_singular( 'post' )
|| ! in_the_loop()
|| ! is_main_query()
|| apply_filters( 'snn_safe_display_skip_links', false )
|| ! class_exists( 'WP_HTML_Tag_Processor' )
) {
return $html;
}
$processor = new WP_HTML_Tag_Processor( $html );
while ( $processor->next_tag( 'A' ) ) {
$href = $processor->get_attribute( 'href' );
if ( ! is_string( $href ) ) {
continue;
}
$clean = self::clean_url( $href );
if ( $clean !== $href ) {
$processor->set_attribute( 'href', $clean );
}
}
return $processor->get_updated_html();
}
public static function display_css() {
if ( self::skip_request() || ! is_singular( 'post' ) ) {
return;
}
/*
* Space reservations apply only to ad wrappers with these classes.
* Adjust the heights to match your actual ad placements.
* Unfilled ad slots can retain blank space.
*/
$css = '
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-inarticle {
min-height: 280px;
}
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 280px;
}
.entry-content p.wp-block-paragraph {
overflow-wrap: break-word;
}
@media (max-width: 921px) {
.snn-ad-container.snn-ad-sidebar {
min-height: 100px;
}
}
';
wp_register_style(
'snn-safe-display',
false,
array(),
'1.0.0'
);
wp_enqueue_style( 'snn-safe-display' );
wp_add_inline_style( 'snn-safe-display', $css );
}
}
SNN_Safe_Display_20261031::boot();
}
