Overview

• Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were arrested by federal agents on April 24, 2025, at their Las Cruces home.
• The couple is charged with evidence tampering and conspiracy to tamper, linked to their alleged harboring of Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member.
• Ortega-Lopez, who illegally entered the U.S. in December 2023 and was released due to overcrowding, lived in the Canos’ guesthouse and was arrested in February 2025 on federal firearm charges.
• Investigators also detained three other individuals at the property, all suspected of being members of the Venezuelan gang designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization earlier this year.
• Joel Cano had resigned as a judge in March 2025 and was permanently barred from holding judicial office by the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 22, 2025.