Federal agents in Del Rio have shut down a brazen border run that turned out to be a rolling chemical lab. A Mexican national was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 210 months in prison, more than 17 years, after officers at the Eagle Pass port of entry discovered hundreds of kilograms of liquid methamphetamine hidden inside propane tanks. Prosecutors say the bust pulled back the curtain on a sophisticated way traffickers have been sneaking massive loads across the border. The sentence and details of the stop were announced by federal prosecutors on Tuesday.
How agents uncovered the haul
On June 5, 2022, Customs and Border Protection officers pulled a vehicle into secondary inspection at Eagle Pass. Two propane tanks on the truck caught their attention, looking and even smelling as if they had just been freshly painted. A CBP K-9 quickly alerted to narcotics, and officers went to work on the tanks.
When agents cut them open, they found six large concealed packages inside. The load weighed about 168.2 kilograms in total and tested positive for methamphetamine, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. Prosecutors say the defendant later told Homeland Security Investigations that a co-conspirator had agreed to pay him to transport the truck and that he had previously driven the same vehicle across the border to build a clean crossing history.
Court proceedings and sentence
Federal prosecutors identified the driver as 51-year-old Paul Ivan Palmero-Martinez. He was charged in a four-count indictment and in 2022 pleaded guilty to a single count tied to the smuggling run, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.
Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses handed down a 210-month federal prison term in Del Rio on Tuesday. Prosecutors also highlighted the sentencing on X, where they linked to the formal government announcement.
Part of a wider federal crackdown
Prosecutors said the case is being pursued as part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative that concentrates OCDETF and Project Safe Neighborhood resources on cross-border smuggling and transnational criminal organizations. That program, outlined in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, instructs U.S. Attorney's Offices to zero in on the most serious, readily provable offenses and to coordinate closely with Homeland Security Task Forces, according to the DOJ memorandum. The document explicitly frames this prosecution within that broader policy push.
Homeland Security Investigations led the probe and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner prosecuted the case, according to the government announcement. With the federal sentence now in place, any immigration consequences will be handled by separate authorities once Palmero-Martinez completes his prison term. Local officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
