DEA arrests Progreso businessman who dabbled in local politics

PROGRESO, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested three people Thursday in Progreso, including a well-known businessman with a checkered past.

Pedro Luis Lopez, 55, of Progreso is charged with participating in a conspiracy that involved 194 pounds of cocaine.

“I thought he was just a business owner like I am,” said City Councilman Raul Martinez.

Martinez said his business, Tortilleria Nvo Progreso, sells tortillas to Lopez’s business, the 1015 Grocery Store.

“It’s been a wild day,” Martinez said.

Lopez is well known in Progreso, where many people think he owns the 1015 Grocery Store.

Documents filed with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, though, list Lopez’s son, Pedro Jr., as the managing member for 1015 Grocery Store LLC. Lopez doesn’t appear on the paperwork.

“Everyone here in Progreso says it’s his,” Martinez said. “So I thought it was his.”

How, exactly, Lopez made his money remains unclear.

In 2004, he created R/C Trading LLC, which had a Mercedes address, according to documents filed with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Hidalgo County jail records list R/C Trading as Lopez’s employer and his occupation as “exports grain.”

In 2019, a lawyer who represented Lopez in a civil lawsuit filed a motion that attempted to explain why he carried large amounts of cash.

According to the motion, Lopez had a “warehouse business” that generated more than $5 million in gross receipts, along with a convenience store “which does very well.”

Lopez, however, also had several run-ins with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In 2013, agents with the Department of Public Safety followed a suspicious tractor-trailer from a hotel in Donna to a warehouse in Progreso.

Lopez and the truck driver left the warehouse together, according to a report prepared by the Department of Public Safety.

A state trooper stopped the truck driver on Farm-to-Market Road 1015. When they searched the tractor-trailer, agents found about 1,100 pounds of marijuana hidden in a shipment of blackberries.

Agents questioned Lopez about the marijuana.

“LOPEZ who is also the owner of the warehouse where the marihuana was picked up at, debriefed,” according to the report, “giving a full confession and a willingness to provide more information on a later date.”

Lopez pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana but received deferred adjudication, which allowed him to avoid a felony conviction.

The Department of Public Safety linked Lopez to another marijuana shipment in 2016.

A vehicle registered to Lopez “was observed meeting with two males in a truck tractor,” according to an affidavit filed in a civil forfeiture case. “The truck tractor was subsequently observed traveling to LOPEZ’s property in Progreso, Texas and loading 686 pounds of marijuana.”

Lopez wasn’t arrested or charged with any crime.

In 2018, the Department of Public Safety stumbled upon Lopez again.

During a traffic stop, a state trooper discovered about $8,000 in Lopez’s truck, along with several handwritten ledgers.

“Ledgers kept in this manner are also common practice bookkeeping habits for narcotics transactions,” according to the affidavit. “The ledgers contained only numbers and no other information indicating what this (sic) figures may represent.”

Lopez was charged with money laundering.

Prosecutors dropped the case less than a year later after they couldn’t prove Lopez had actually laundered any money.

Lopez also became a major player in local politics.

In April, when the mayor of Progreso resigned, Martinez decided to run for the position. Lopez became one of his biggest supporters.

Lopez allowed Martinez to use the 1015 Grocery Store for campaign giveaways and spent hours sitting with Martinez’s team at the polls.

“He obviously has a store and all, and would show up with food and stuff for their camp,” said Melba Rodriguez, 65, of Progreso.

Rodriguez is supporting another candidate, Hugo Gamboa, for mayor. She questioned why Lopez was spending so much time at the polls.

“I see it as him having a lot of interest in this campaign,” Rodriguez said. “And I wondered why.”

Martinez said he didn’t know about Lopez’s criminal record.

“I even got a call from my mom right now. Like: ‘What’s going on? What happened? He was there with you,’” Martinez said, recalling the conversation. “I’m like: ‘Yeah, I know mom. I didn’t even know.’ It was a surprise to me too.’”

The DEA arrested Lopez on Thursday morning after a grand jury indicted him on federal drug trafficking charges.

At least two other people, Jose Gabriel Lopez-Garcia and Daniel Sanchez-Benavidez, allegedly participated in the conspiracy.

On Nov. 13, 2022, they possessed 194 pounds of cocaine with intent to distribute, according to the indictment, which doesn’t include any details about the conspiracy or explain what each person did.

If convicted, they face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison.

The case against Lopez may be linked to a drug trafficking case against former Progreso Mayor Gerardo “Jerry” Alanis and his brother, former Progreso school board President Francisco “Frank” Alanis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra Andrade of Brownsville is handling both cases.

Lopez remained in custody Thursday and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Attorney Javier Villalobos of McAllen, who represented Lopez in the marijuana and money laundering cases, said he would talk to Lopez’s family.

Court records don’t list attorneys for the other two defendants, who also remain in custody.

They're scheduled to appear before a judge on Friday morning.