Laredo Division · Webb County
Federal Sentencing in Laredo (Webb County)
Laredo's federal docket is dominated by narcotics trafficking, firearms trafficking to Mexico, and bulk cargo interdictions coming through World Trade and Colombia-Solidarity bridges.
Facts
- The Port of Laredo is the #1 land port in the U.S. by trade volume, moving over $300 billion in goods each year.
- Straw-purchaser firearms cases under 18 U.S.C. § 932/933 are increasingly common as the DOJ targets southbound trafficking.
- Drug quantity — not role — drives the base offense level under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1.
Myths vs. reality
Myth:A courier who never sees the drugs cannot be sentenced for the full load.
Reality:Relevant conduct under § 1B1.3 attributes the full jointly-undertaken quantity to each participant, subject to foreseeability.
Myth:Straw purchases are just paperwork violations.
Reality:Under the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (18 U.S.C. § 932) straw purchasing carries up to 15 years, or 25 years if guns fuel a drug trafficking crime.
Figures
5 kg cocaine → mandatory minimum
10 years
21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)
500 g cocaine → mandatory minimum
5 years
21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B)
Firearm-in-furtherance (§ 924(c))
+5 years consecutive
Next step
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Educational reference only. Sentencing outcomes depend on statute, guideline calculations, § 3553(a) factors, and the specific facts of each case. Not legal advice.