Disgraced ex-judge and wife arrested for allegedly harboring Tren de Aragua thug

Federal agents stormed the Las Cruces home of former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy, Thursday, slapping cuffs on the pair for evidence tampering. 

The charge? Harboring Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged illegal alien and suspected member of Venezuela’s brutal Tren de Aragua gang.

“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens—including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared. “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 arrest ties back to February when Ortega-Lopez was nabbed at the Cano residence. Court documents show the details: Nancy Cano hired him for home repairs, then let him crash in their guesthouse. Cozy setup—until feds linked him to Tren de Aragua through gang gear, tattoos, voicemails, and texts.

Ortega-Lopez slipped into the U.S. on Dec. 15, 2023, crossing near Eagle Pass, Texas, without papers. Border Patrol, were swamped and had to cut him loose three days later with a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings. Big mistake.

Feds later raided the home of the Canos’ daughter, April, seizing four firearms. 

Social media posts show Ortega-Lopez flexing with weapons, some allegedly April’s. He’s now staring down federal charges for illegal possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5). Conviction could lock him up for 15 years but the chances of him serving the full dime and a nickel are slim.

“Doña Ana County has been a hotbed of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, human smuggling for many, many years,” former ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore told WPMI. “To see that a judge would allow this to happen. It’s very concerning. It’s concerning. What else has the judge been doing?”
Cano quit his bench in March, and on Tuesday, the New Mexico Supreme Court dropped the hammer, banning him from ever holding judicial office again. Good riddance.

“The people of New Mexico are tired of a system where the powerful don’t play by their own rules,” Amy Barela, Chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, told the Las Cruces Sun-News. “We demand real accountability for Judge Cano’s connection to a gang-affiliated criminal and full transparency on how our judiciary is being held to the same laws as the rest of us. Enough is enough.”

Homeland Security Investigations is still digging, per KFOX. This mess is far from over.

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N. Mexico Supreme Court bans judge after alleged TdA gangbanger arrested at his home

Alright, let’s dive into this mess with the kind of swagger only a disgraced judge and a shady Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangbanger could inspire. 

Picture this: Joel Cano, once a big shot in New Mexico’s Doña Ana County Magistrate Court, got himself in a pickle so sour it cost him his gavel for good. Last month, the dude bailed on his judge gig after cops nabbed a suspected Tren de Aragua thug—yeah, that Venezuelan crime crew—right at his house. Now, the New Mexico Supreme Court’s dropped the hammer, banning Cano from ever sitting on a bench again. 

No judicial robes, no wedding gigs, nada. “Joel Cano can never hold a judicial office again, be a candidate for a judicial office, and cannot exercise any judicial authority in the state, including officiating at weddings,” an Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

The guy is done. Finito.

The court was supposed to have a big disciplinary showdown this Thursday, but with Cano’s cases tied up, they’ve kicked that to the curb. Cano, who was slinging rulings in Las Cruces, sent his “peace out” letter on March 3, though the AOC says the Supreme Court and 3rd Judicial District Court didn’t get it until March 31. His last day? March 21. 

In his letter, he’s all warm and fuzzy, like he’s leaving for a beach vacation: “All the best to everyone of you. I wish all of you a happy retirement once you are ready yourself.” 

Bro, you’re not retiring—you’re running from a scandal. Your status is lower than whale poop.

Now, let’s get to the juicy part. 

Back in January, Homeland Security Investigations in Las Cruces started sniffing around Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, a Venezuelan who snuck across the border in December 2023 and was allegedly tied to a criminal gang. Court docs call him “an illegal alien from Venezuela and a suspected member of a criminal gang” living with other border-jumpers and flexing firearms like he’s auditioning for a cartel flick. 

On Feb. 28, the feds swooped in with two search warrants at a house owned by Cano’s wife, Nancy Cano. They hauled Ortega-Lopez and his crew out, snagging four guns from the place. Plot twist: the house belongs to Nancy, and the guns? Linked to their daughter, April Cano.

Ortega-Lopez was out here posing with weapons on social media, bragging that April let him “hold and sometimes shoot various firearms.” Classy. He told the feds he met Nancy Cano in El Paso while installing a glass door—real handyman vibes. After getting evicted from his apartment in April 2024, Nancy offered him the “casita” behind her and Joel’s place. 

Cozy setup, right? Until the feds rolled up.

So, Cano’s out, his rep’s trashed, and Ortega-Lopez is cooling his heels in custody. This is the kind of story that makes you wonder who’s vetting the help—and the judges. New Mexico’s courts are done with Cano, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them.

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