Carlos Moreno-Reyes Gets 17 Years for Cocaine, Marijuana Empire

Carlos Moreno-Reyes, aka Charlie Brown, 46, of Clint, Texas, was sentenced Monday to 17 years in federal prison — the final and most severe punishment in a sprawling drug trafficking case that exposed a decade-long narcotics pipeline stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border to Oklahoma City. Moreno-Reyes, the ringleader of a sophisticated Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), admitted to hauling in $25,587,400 for smuggling and distributing cocaine and marijuana between October 2008 and April 2019.

Court documents reveal Moreno-Reyes orchestrated operations across the El Paso region, exploiting regional routes to ferry bulk drugs northward. His network included five co-conspirators who have already been sentenced, each playing key roles in the distribution and cash smuggling operation. The DTO didn’t just move product — it moved millions in cash, laundered and smuggled back south, fueling a relentless cycle of violence and addiction.

The other defendants: Jose Luis Ortiz-Valenzuela, aka Pelon, 37, of Avondale, AZ, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine and was sentenced July 17, 2020, to 96 months in prison; Julio Adrian Terrazas, aka JT, 31, of Fabens, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess marijuana and was sentenced July 20, 2020, to 46 months; Edgar Sanchez, aka Siez or Chavalito, 29, also of Fabens, received 120 months after pleading guilty to the same cocaine charge, sentenced March 11, 2020.

Jacinto Olivas-Cervantes, aka Chente or Chinto, 53, of San Elizario, was sentenced February 25, 2020, to 30 months for marijuana conspiracy; Oliva Beltran-Paez, 33, of Clint, pleaded guilty to bulk cash smuggling and was handed five years of probation on February 28, 2020. All six have now been held accountable, closing a chapter on one of El Paso’s longest-running DTO investigations.

“I am grateful for the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners as we work together to pursue not only individual drug traffickers peddling this poison, but also large drug trafficking organizations and their leadership,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “Make no mistake — profit on suffering ends in prison.”

HSI El Paso led the investigation, with Assistant Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho stating, “The Department of Homeland Security Investigations continues to aggressively pursue narcotics traffickers. Our work is not done, and our resolve in attacking the drug trade and the cartels is as strong as it’s ever been.” The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andres Ortega as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, a federal hammer aimed at dismantling high-level criminal syndicates.