Illegal Alien Sent to Federal Prison for Attempted Meth Smuggling Following Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

DEL RIO, Texas - A Homeland Security Task Force investigation resulted in an illegal alien from Mexico being sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 20 years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons.

According to court documents, on April 20, 2025, Veronica Sanchez-Pineda, 47, of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, approached the Eagle Pass Port of Entry in a pickup truck and gave Customs and Border Protection officers a negative declaration for contraband including narcotics. A secondary inspection resulted in the discovery of a crystal-like substance inside an auxiliary tank in the bed of the truck. The substance tested positive for 521.03 kg of methamphetamine. Sanchez-Pineda consented to a search of her cell phone, which contained a text message about a "job" in Eagle Pass as well as screenshots of money transfers between the defendant and another individual.

Sanchez-Pineda was arrested at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry. She was named in a four-count indictment on May 14, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Dec. 22, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. District Court Judge Ernest Gonzalez presided over the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Daisy Gonzalez prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI; ICE HSI; DEA; ATF; U.S. Border Patrol; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation; IRS Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety; as well as local police departments and sheriff's offices, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.

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