McALLEN, Texas – After two hours of deliberation, a federal jury found former Customs and Border Protection agent Juan Posas Jr. guilty of drug smuggling, US Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced in a news release.
Posas, 51, of Raymondville, was also found guilty of 51-year-old conspiracy. The jury deliberated for two hours before convicting Juan Posas Jr. of cocaine trafficking and drug-trafficking conspiracy.
The man is a former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. At trial, the jury heard that on June 6, 2022, Posas traveled from Raymondville to a Home Depot in Weslaco, where he met Alexis Soria-Soria, 25, a Mexican citizen residing in the United States illegally. Soria then transferred a box containing approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine to Posas’s truck.
At trial, the jury heard recordings of phone conversations in which Posas helped plan the drug smuggling attempt.
However, the defense tried to convince the jury that Soria approached him in the parking lot and simply asked if he wanted free fruit, then placed a box in his car. He said that he never checked what was in the box. The jury did not believe his claims and found him guilty as charged.
District judge Micaela Álvarez presided over the trial and set the sentence for September 14. At that time, Posas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and up to life in prison and a possible maximum fine of $10 million.
Posas entered preventive detention on Tuesday, where he will remain until the hearing is held.
