Overview

• U.S. District Judge Fred Biery imposed the maximum term of 80 years for kidnapping and two 20-year terms for harboring to run consecutively.
• In March 2022, Balderas and his associates abducted seven migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border and transported them from La Pryor to San Antonio.
• The migrants were held in hotel rooms and their families were extorted for thousands of dollars, including one ransom payment of $7,000.
• Prosecutors presented evidence that Balderas and his co-conspirator brandished firearms to enforce compliance and that Balderas sexually assaulted one captive.
• Co-conspirator Kaylen Alexander Brondo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap in September 2024 and is scheduled for sentencing on August 26, 2025.