United States of America v. Luis Carlos Davaiso Lopez

El Paso, Texas, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to bring in aliens to the United States.

Reported by Kent Morlan

In January 2025, federal law enforcement located a sophisticated tunnel between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. Intercepted phone calls between Luis Carlos Davalos-Lopez, 29, and other individuals revealed conversations regarding the smuggling of aliens through the tunnel and included references to charging aliens upwards of $30,000 to utilize the tunnel for purposes of entering the United States unlawfully and without inspection. In several of these intercepted phone calls, Davalos-Lopez specifically referred to a tunnel that exists between Juarez and El Paso and discussed how many migrants cross through the tunnel and how much is charged to use the tunnel. Davalos-Lopez and his co-defendants were indicted in April 2025. The Government of Mexico, pursuant to its National Security Law, subsequently transferred Davalos-Lopez to the United States.

Davalos-Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring in aliens to the United States. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Davalos-Lopez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Davalos-Lopez’s co-defendant, Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez, 40, of Mexico, previously pleaded guilty on Aug. 27 to conspiring with others to provide material support to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) by trafficking firearms from the United States to Mexico, for the express purpose of delivering those firearms to members of CJNG. Gustavo Castro-Medina, 29, of Mexico, also previously pleaded guilty to serving as an intermediary to facilitate the interstate and foreign transfer of $3,000 in U.S. currency via wire to an undercover agent to purchase firearms for subsequent unlawful transport.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso, assisted by the U.S. Border Patrol, investigated the case. ATF legal attachés in Mexico City and Mexico’s Fiscalía General de la República Organized Crime Unit (FGR-FEMDO) provided substantial assistance. HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force also provided assistance with the investigation. The Justice Department’s (DOJ) Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty.