A former judge in New Mexico and his wife were taken into custody Thursday night in connection with a suspected Tren de Aragua gangster who had apparently been living at their residence.

In fact, three young male illegal aliens from Venezuela had apparently been living in the casita behind the Las Cruces home shared by Nancy and Jose "Joel" Cano. All three Venezuelans, including 23-year-old Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, have been described by federal agents as well-known members of the vicious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

On February 28, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted a search warrant on the Canos' home in connection with the suspected gangsters, who were all arrested. Three days later Joel Cano, a former cop, announced his resignation as magistrate judge in Doña Ana County, an elected position he first won in 2010 as a Democrat, Blaze News previously reported.

'There is no way in the world that I would have allowed my grandkids to have any contact with the boys if I had sensed danger.'

The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission soon opened an investigation into Cano for possible "willful misconduct," and Cano submitted a 23-page letter responding to the allegations. In the letter, Cano repeatedly referred to the suspected gang members as "the boys" and denied having any idea that they could be bad news.

"Let me be as crystal clear as possible," he wrote, according to KOAT. "The very first time I ever heard that the boys could possibly have any association with Tren de Aragua was when I was informed of that by [the] agents on the day of the raid."

Cano further insisted that if he had known, he would never have allowed "the boys" to interact with his grandchildren: "I have three grandkids that I love dearly. ... There is no way in the world that I would have allowed my grandkids to have any contact with the boys if I had sensed danger."

Cano also claimed that official documents indicated that "the boys" were not at risk of deportation. He said he repeatedly saw "this person is not subject to removal" noted on their forms and that they had asylum hearings scheduled.

Finally, the ex-judge denied other accusations related to photo and video evidence revealing that on at least one occasion, the Canos and the alleged gangbangers took a trip to the local gun range. "I did not take a single firearm to the range. I took no ammunition to the range either. [My wife] and I went only as spectators," Cano claimed.

Nancy Cano's daughter, April Cano, has been accused of allowing Ortega-Lopez "to hold and sometimes shoot various firearms" she owns. Prosecutors reportedly submitted photo and video evidence of Ortega-Lopez holding her weapons. Ortega-Lopez's TDA-related tattoos are likewise allegedly visible in the photos and video.

According to reports, Nancy Cano first met Ortega-Lopez when he was living in El Paso, working construction and other odd jobs after he was released from an immigration detention facility in South Laredo because of overcrowding in December 2023. Ortega-Lopez reportedly told agents that Mrs. Cano invited him and his friends to move into the guest home on her property in Las Cruces after they had done some work for the couple.

'Initially we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started obviously conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well.'

Ortega-Lopez currently sits in the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, facing charges related to illegal border crossing and federal weapons violations.

And now, he and the Canos are together again. Mr. and Mrs. Cano are both likewise locked up at the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, facing charges of tampering with evidence, jail records show.

Jason Stevens, the Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge of the El Paso office, gave further insights into their apprehension. "Initially we came back here to arrest his wife, and as we started obviously conducting our interviews and started looking at evidence, we subsequently arrested Mr. Cano as well," he said, according to Newsweek.

John Fabbricatore, former ICE field office director, spoke for many when told a local news outlet: "To see that a judge would allow this to happen, it's very concerning. It's concerning. What else has the judge been doing?"

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the news of the Canos' arrest on social media:

Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens — including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang.

If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and lock you up.

That’s a promise.

The New Mexico Supreme Court has permanently barred Joel Cano from ever serving on the bench again.

The Canos did not respond to a request for comment from KOAT, which presumably reached out to the couple prior to their arrest.

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