Politician’s brother sentenced to 6 years in prison for smuggling cocaine

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A local politician’s brother was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday after federal agents caught him with about 76 pounds of cocaine.

During a hearing on Tuesday morning, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Ruben Aris Flores Jr., 49, of Edcouch to six years in federal prison.

“I want to apologize to my family,” Flores said.

Flores is part of an influential family with a checkered past.

His brother, Rene, was a rising star in local politics who served on the Edcouch Board of Aldermen for eight years.

The FBI arrested Rene on bribery charges in September 2024. Less than a month later, a grand jury indicted Ruben.

Attorney Sergio J. Sanchez of McAllen, who represents Ruben, said the cases against the Flores brothers are completely unrelated.

The case against Ruben Flores started with a traffic stop, according to documents filed in a civil forfeiture lawsuit.

On Jan. 26, 2023, investigators with the regional High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force watched a blue Kenworth T660 truck tractor pick up produce from a warehouse in Mission.

At 6:35 p.m., the Kenworth T660 left the warehouse. Flores was behind the wheel.

Investigators arranged for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a traffic stop. The sheriff’s deputy brought his K-9, which smelled something suspicious in the Kenworth T660.

Flores said the mechanics who fix his truck smoke marijuana, according to an affidavit filed in the civil forfeiture lawsuit, and the K-9 probably smelled it.

The investigators didn’t buy his story.

They transported the Kenworth T660 to a building owned by Weslaco Public Works for a thorough search.

Flores said they “weren’t going to find anything,” according to the affidavit, and left the scene.

At 11:30 p.m., after searching the Kenworth T660 for several hours, the investigators discovered a hidden compartment.

“A drill was utilized to puncture the aftermarket compartment,” according to the affidavit, “and on the tip of the drill Investigators were able to see a white powdery substance.”

Investigators pulled 30 packages of cocaine from the compartment. The packages weighed about 34.5 kilograms — 76 pounds.

Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration interviewed Flores on Feb. 13, 2023.

“Mr. Flores admitted that he had loaded the cocaine,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Salazar said during a hearing in November 2024.

Flores said that someone promised to pay him $800 per kilogram to transport the cocaine to an “undisclosed location in Houston,” Salazar said.

Faced with 10 years to life in federal prison, Flores pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government. He returned to court Tuesday wearing gray sweatpants, a gray sweatshirt and silver handcuffs.

“I’ve known Ruben since we were kids,” Sanchez said. “I feel bad that he’s going to have to go to prison, but we all recognize — his family included — that he needed to do this time.”

Flores developed a drug problem, Sanchez said, which resulted in poor decisions.

“He’s a family man,” Sanchez said. “He’s a good man.”

Flores, though, already had a criminal record.

In 2006, he pleaded guilty to possession of more than 50 but less than 2,000 pounds of marijuana, according to documents released by the Bosque County District Clerk’s Office in Meridian, Texas. A judge sentenced Flores to seven years in prison.

As a result, Flores faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison on the federal drug charge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, however, filed a sealed motion to reduce his sentence.

Crane, the federal judge, granted the motion and sentenced Flores to six years in prison.

With credit for the time he’s already spent in jail, good conduct in prison and completing a drug program, Flores could be released to a halfway house in less than four years.

“We thought that was a very fair result on a 10-year mandatory minimum,” Sanchez said.