A criminal illegal alien from Mexico who led a transnational drug trafficking organization tied to Cartel La Familia Michoacana has been sentenced to 19 years and six months in federal prison, ICE announced on March 5.
Baldemar Navarro-Jaimes, 36, who illegally resided in Houston, received a sentence of 234 months in prison, to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
The sentence followed Navarro-Jaimes’ guilty plea on July 1, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Investigators with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, leading the probe known as Operation EEYORE, determined that Navarro-Jaimes directed smuggling of multikilogram quantities of cocaine and other narcotics from Mexican cartels into the U.S.
The organization used commercial tractor-trailers equipped with hidden compartments to transport drugs from Texas hubs in Houston and Dallas to distribution points in Illinois, New York, Georgia and North Carolina. Authorities linked him directly to about 9 kilograms of cocaine and 23 kilograms of methamphetamine. The operation also involved brokering narcotics and firearms deals. Navarro-Jaimes facilitated the illegal export of more than 10 firearms to Mexico to arm cartel members.
A search of a Dallas stash house recovered four firearms, ammunition and cellphones.
Navarro-Jaimes previously worked as a hitman for cartel leadership in Mexico and served about seven years in a Mexican prison before illegally entering the U.S., where he resumed criminal activities and ascended to a leadership role in the network.
The investigation, which began with a traffic stop in the Southern District of Texas in April 2023, dismantled a multistate narcotics network and resulted in indictments against multiple individuals for drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, bulk cash smuggling and immigration violations.
“Navarro-Jaimes was not a street-level dealer — he was a leader who helped flood American communities with huge quantities of narcotics while facilitating the illegal movement of firearms to cartel operatives in Mexico,” ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall said in a statement. “HSI and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify, investigate and dismantle transnational criminal organizations that threaten public safety and fuel cartel violence on both sides of the border.”
The case involved collaboration among HSI Corpus Christi, the Homeland Security Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration and local partners. Navarro-Jaimes remains in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
