A Texas state trooper faces trafficking charges in connection with his alleged role in leaking law enforcement information and protecting drug shipments for his father’s organization.
On Monday, Trooper Pablo Talavera Jr. went before a U.S. magistrate judge who set his bond at $75,000. The hearing was the second for Talavera, who has been in custody since last week. During a prior hearing, a judge formally notified him of the charges.
The case began in August 2019 when the FBI began investigating the trooper’s father, Pablo Talavera Sr., who ran a cartel-connected drug smuggling group from South Texas to Jackson, Tennessee, a criminal complaint filed in federal court stated. Federal agents also linked other relatives to the alleged smuggling organization.
Authorities claim Pablo Talavera Sr. would talk about his relatives in law enforcement who could provide the information needed to run his smuggling organization.
While court documents do not state which cartel the Talavera’s were connected, it is known that cartel members in Reynosa kidnapped the trooper’s father in 2019. The only criminal organization that operates in Reynosa is the Gulf Cartel.
According to authorities, the trooper would use government databases to leak information to his father regarding license plates and other sensitive information. FBI agents also claimed Talavera would escort or provide surveillance to cash shipments running south or drug shipments to the north.
While South Texas has a long history of corruption involving federal and local authorities, Talavera’s case is one of the few involving a state law enforcement official.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.