“Project Python” Mexican national convicted of meth smuggling

LAREDO, TX -- A 47-year-old resident of Guanajuato, Mexico, has entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

From August 2015 to March 2018, Jose Domingo Ibarra Martinez and other co-conspirators imported large quantities of meth through the ports of entry in Laredo to be distributed through the United States.

Ibarra admitted to smuggling over 150 vehicle batteries and other drug-laden items into the country during the course of the conspiracy. The investigation revealed the batteries originated from Michoacán, Mexico. Each was loaded with approximately 7.5 kilograms of meth.

During the plea. Ibarra admitted the organization as a whole imported more than 1,000 drug-laden items.

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana accepted the plea and will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, Ibarra faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine. He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the Organized Crime and Drug Task (OCDETF) operation known as Gelo Podre with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department and sheriff’s offices in Victoria and Williamson Counties. It is part of Project Python, a nationwide operation announced in March 2020. The operation targeted the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación and has resulted in more than 600 arrests, 350 indictments and significant seizures of money and drugs across the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Evans is prosecuting the case.