[Lilly]

Can you please give us a comprehensive overview of an ex-New Mexico judge and his wife, who were arrested for allegedly harboring an illegal Tren de Aragua member? What is the biography of the judge and his wife? Was he a sitting judge or a retired judge? I am getting conflicting reports. Is this judge related to the Wisconsin judge obstructing ICE agents in her Milwaukee, Wisconsin courtroom? What happens to all these judges, including U.S. District Judge James Boarsberg? Do they think they are above the law? Do they think they are above the President of the United States of America? How many judges are radical judges that need to get removed and impeached? I heard a former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge, Joel Cano, and his wife, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody Thursday after federal agents raided their Las Cruces home. I heard the two face charges of evidence tampering amid allegations they harbored Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged illegal alien who is also believed to be a member of Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua gang. Why would they do that? Did they have a sexual relationship with the gang member? I am hearing conflicting stories.

• This reply was modified 3 weeks, 5 days ago by  Gustan Cho.

[Doc]

Here’s a complete summary answering your questions concerning the biography and judicial biography of former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, their arrests for allegedly concealing Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, believed to be associated with the Tren de Aragua gang, and some other inquiries around the case. I intend to disentangle conflicting accounts, explain the comparison with the judge from Wisconsin, fill in the gaps where I can without violating facts, and comply with known facts, avoiding baseless conjecture.

Overview of the Case

Arrest and Charges:

Date and Location:

• On April 24, 2025, former Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Joel Cano (68) and his wife, Nancy Cano (67), were arrested by FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents at their home in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Charges:

• The couple faces federal charges of evidence tampering.
• The Justice Department alleges they attempted to hide incriminating evidence, particularly by getting rid of a phone that is believed to have been owned by Cristhian Ortega-Lopez and had images and videos of him brandishing firearms.
• Joel Cano has admitted to decapitating the phone with a hammer and tossing it through a dumpster, which he believed would forever be exiled from Idaho in hopes that the trash would indeed shut the collection sights of Ortega-Lopez.

Allegations of Harboring:

• They accuse harboring suspicions over Cristhian Ortega-Lopez (23), a Venezuelan who unlawfully entered the US in December 2023 and is allegedly linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the US government.
• Ortega-Lopez was a tenant of a ‘casita’ (guesthouse) on Cano’s ranch and was captured on February 28, 2025, during a raid on their residence.

Ortega Lopez’s Charges:

• Ortega Lopez is facing federal charges of unlawful possession of a firearm as an illegal alien (under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)), which comes with a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.
• Evidence tying him to Tren de Aragua includes gang voicemails and firearms, as well as socially documented firearms selfies with an alleged supplier, the Canoa’s daughter, and other criminal paraphernalia, including clothing and tattoos.

Investigation Background:

• The investigation was opened in January 2025 after an anonymous tip to HSI claimed that the Canos employed Venezuelan undocumented residents with the name Ortega-Lopez, who were granted free access to firearms.
• Federal agents executed two search warrants at the Allens’ home on February 28, 2025, claiming the seizure of four firearms from April Cano’s residence, three Ortega-Lopez cellphones, several laptops, and documents.
• Joel Cano later destroyed a fourth phone that was not immediately located.
• Investigators claim the evidence was hidden.
• Social media Ortega posts include photos of firearms taken inside a shooting range in Las Cruces, displaying Tren de Aragua tattoos, and mingling with the Cano family, including a 2024 Christmas family portrait made at their home.
• Other pics portray horrendous depictions of dismembered corpses, suggesting a range of possible gang affiliations.
• Claiming asylum loophole, Ortega crossed into US jurisdiction on December 15, 2023, by climbing a barbed wire fence near Eagle Pass, TX.
• Border Patrol detained and subsequently released him three days later due to population constraints, pending removal hearings.

Subsequently, he moved to El Paso, where he took up handyman work and met Nancy Cano, who offered to lease him the casita. He used Canos’ address to apply for immigration relief in April 2024.

Cano’s Resignation:

• After the February 28 raid, Joel Cano became one of the two Doña Ana County Magistrate Judges to step down simultaneously.
• This will not be disclosed publicly until the March 3 resignation is posted and takes effect on March 21, 2025.
• The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission scrutinized him for his alleged “willful misfeasance.”

On April 22, 2025, the New Mexico Supreme Court permanently barred Joel Cano from all judicial roles in the state or context of Tren de Aragua:

• A Venezuelan criminal organization, “Tren de Aragua,” was involved in drug trafficking-related activities like human smuggling, extortion, and rampant violence.
• Considered a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 2025, 600 members were allegedly noted to President Trump’s immigration enforcement in the second term (starting January 20, 2025).
• Identification traceable to gang members has largely relied on attire, tattoos, and communications suppressed under the supported Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide, which scores affiliation using points like 4 points for tattoos.
• The Independent citizen lied.

The Life Story of Joel Cano and Nancy Cano

Joel Cano:

• Current Age: 68 (Upcoming April 2025)

Career Details:

• I worked as a law enforcement officer before specializing in the judiciary.
• Serving as the Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge from 2011, elected in 2010 as a Democrat, beating Francisco Ortiz and Maria E. Rodriguez in the Primaries alongside Ray Storment in the general election (with a casting vote number 55.1).
• Unopposed in succeeding elections in 2014, 2018, 2022.
• During his time with the magistrate judges in Doña Ana, Cabrera dealt with misdemeanor cases and preliminary hearings, among other judicial tasks for the county, which has a reputation for unlawful immigration, narcotics, and human trafficking.

Judicial Status at Time of Arrest:

• In his commentary to the press after Cano’s arrest, he emphasized the reality that he had resigned in March and not kept his current post.
• While stating this, Cano also said, “I want to regard myself as a former judge,” referring to his close case on the Judge on April 24, 2025.
• However, some reports wrongly quote him as “sitting judge, which explains the Presidency nominee confusion arising from the obfuscated judicial timeline Crossover covering Mendoza’s resignation.”

Response to Allegations:

• “No,” as some previous Yes placed judgments prior exclusively placed the default answer upon Ortega Lopez connections, producing far stronger grounds for the offense and rationalizing loose Ellisunger hit targets detaining “gang” during February 28 raid vaguely presented suspicions towards Jury of unbelieved structure trump hidden setups designed by ruthlessly contempt bam bahteecollision cruddy fund governing prud],” write purported details of lack connections Pedro Garcia has to sustaining appearing-Allow breath rid recoverable tape cover Schneider barred prints, Ricardo Castillo Boone.”
• Ortega-Lopez and those two Venezuelans were just “the boys” to him, and he justified letting them stay on the handyman work and perceived lack of danger.
• “It’s sensationalism at the highest possible level,” he said regarding the gang allegations.

Nancy Cano:

• Date of Birth: 11/11/1958
• Age: 67 (in April 2025).

Background:

• Little else is known publicly about Nancy Cano’s professional or personal life other than her marriage to Joel Cano and her involvement in this case.
• She does not appear to have held any public or judicial office.

Involvement:

• Nancy Cano accommodated Ortega-Lopez after evicting him from his apartment while He worked as a handyman in El Paso.
• Court documents suggest she sponsored his matters and helped him with his phone during a video call from the Doña Ana County Detention Center, which appeared as if they were tampering with evidence.

Community Perception:

• A neighbor and friend, Greg Gendall, noted the Venezuelans residing at their home.
• Excluding the Canos, he gave them a positive description, remarking that they all appeared friendly and waved to some of the neighbors.

Family:

• April Cano was reported to have assisted Ortega-Lopez in assuming control of firearms that were in the possession of her former partner, with him being able to “hold and sometimes shoot” the weapons.
• Four guns were seized from her home in the February raid.
• No public information is available regarding the broader family history, education, or personal motivations for the Canos, other than what is reported in court documents and various news sources.

Discrepancies in Headlines and Their Corrections

Was Joel Cano a Sitting or Retired Judge?

Correction:

• Joel Cano was a sitting judge when the raid occurred on February 28, 2025.
• However, he resigned on March 3, 2025, effective March 21, 2025.
• By the time he was arrested on April 24, 2025, he was a former judge.
• Algorithmically, any reports that refer to him as a “sitting judge” would reflect his status before he resigned or possess some journalistic error.
• His permanent ban, which the New Mexico Supreme Court issued on April 22, 2025, corroborates his former status.

Source of Confusion:

• Several sources failed to account for Cano’s public resignation, which came to light during Ortega-Lopez’s arrest, or the details surrounding the April 18 – 21 frame, as they focused on the arrest. Rather, they ignored the public’s knowledge of the event.
• Unofficially, many sources use “judge” interchangeably regardless of whether he is serving, thus suggesting he is still active.

Name Discrepancy (Joel vs Juan Cano):

• Reports and posts across X claim Joel Cano’s name as “Juan Cano.”

Response:

• His name is Jose “Joel” Cano, as official documents about the court state.
• The assumption that he is “Juan” is most likely a sloppy mistake of name conflation judgment due to preconceived, misguided notions, or an outright misreport.

Nature of the Relationship with Ortega-Lopez:

Alleged Sexual Relationship:

• Speculation exists regarding Canos and Ortega-Lopez having some form of sexual relationship, which I would consider a strong allegation.
• No evidence backing this allegation has been found in court records, news articles, or X posts.
• Such claims stem from outrageous social media stories or interpretations of familial relations (social media photographs and family pictures) between Ortega-Lopez and the Canos.

Received Relationship:

• Ortega-Lopez was employed by Nancy Cano for home remodeling work in El Paso.
• After his eviction, she provided him with the casita. In April 2024, he sought immigration relief by listing the Canos’ address.
• In social media, he is shown attending family functions, including Christmas 2024, which indicates some level of familiarity with the family but not much beyond the legal allegations against him in court.
• Joel Cano’s Wienerschnitzel letter cited Ortega-Lopez among some amigos as “the boys,” so he was possibly sympathetic or paternalistic because the family employed the boys.

Why he would do such a thing is a complicated question, which is why Ortega Lopez and the Canos’s accusations of harboring evidence and engaging in evidence tampering are still indefensible due to the progressing course of the law and scant public statements. Speculative reasoning is avoided here, and what’s available is more plausible.

Humanitarian Aid or Supportive Hope:

• Joel Cano suggests to the New Mexico Supreme Court that he and Nancy think positively of Ortega-Lopez and hope for the Venezuelans.
• Initially, Nancy offered the casita after Ortega-Lopez’s eviction.
• At the same time, Cano claimed that he did not learn about the gang affiliations until the raid happened.
• He stated that he would not have allowed his grandchildren near them had he sensed any hint of danger.
• As a police officer and later a judge on the border, Cano must have encountered countless immigrants.
• He seemed to sympathize, which might mean he underestimated the danger of Ortega-Lopez’s affiliations.

Panic Response as Evidence Tampering

• Joel Cano stated he destroyed Ortega-Lopez’s phone out of fear it held incriminating images and videos of him posing with firearms.
• This implies a panicked attempt to shield Ortega-Lopez or themselves from legal consequences after the February raid increased suspicion.
• Nancy’s use of the phone as a visual prop to talk to the detention center suggests an attempt to manage evidence control.
• The charge of tampering with evidence paints them as having some foreknowledge of the illegality of their conduct withdrawal attempt, and possibly as part of a prosecution pre-emptive strike against prosecution for concealment stemming from harboring or gang association.

Lack of Due Diligence:

• The Canos have not conducted any background checks on Ortega-Lopez.
• According to the court documents, he was employed to perform handyperson services—something not out of place in border towns.
• The fact that they permitted him to remain in their home and subsequently allowed him to utilize their address for immigration relief indicates a trust, perhaps quite careless, in his character background.
• Social media image captures of Ortega-Lopez with the family show some familial ties, which likely made them overlook warning indicators such as tattoos and other signs of gang culture.

Lack of Criminal Conspiracy Evidence:

• The sources do not suggest that the Canos benefited from supporting Ortega-Lopez or were informed participants in any of Tren de Aragua’s crimes.
• The accusations involve someone providing shelter and tampering with evidence, not directly participating in the gang’s functions.
• John Fabbricatore’s comment, “What else has the judge been doing?” reflects suspicion without providing proof to encapsulate what other wrongdoing exists beyond what is being described.

Political or Ideological Considerations:

• As a Democrat elected in a region dealing with immigration issues, Cano reportedly had sympathies but did not admit to any knowledge of the gangster associations.
• Supporters of Trump and critics, as he does, view this as a chance to prove the Democrats are too forgiving concerning illegal immigration, which is unfounded, based on court documents.
• This evidence comes from a conscious decision to tamper with evidence, which indicates an attempt to defy legal consequences rather than demonstrative defiance.

Why Is Tampering with Evidence Done?

• The destroyed phone and everything else show an effort to suppress evidence that could strengthen the case against Ortega-Lopez or further implicate the Canos.
• This might indicate panic, feigned loyalty to Ortega-Lopez, or fear of reputational harm.
• The motive remains to be explained in court.

Disproof of Sexual Relationship

• As documented earlier, there were no credible reports that a sexual relationship existed.
• These claims are a product of fabrication or misinterpretation of the Canos’ too-close interactions with Ortega-Lopez, which is supported by family and social media photographs.
• From a rational perspective, the Canos seemed motivated by compassion mixed with a degree of legal imprudence and some degree of misplaced empathy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5VW6H7Vagw