Progreso man who shipped cocaine to Georgia avoids prison

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A drug smuggler who cooperated with the government avoided prison Monday.

Antonio Ramirez Robledo, 57, of Progreso participated in a conspiracy to ship large amounts of cocaine from the Rio Grande Valley to Georgia.

Asked if he wanted to speak before sentencing, Ramirez struggled to find the right words.

“Well, I don’t even know what to say,” Ramirez stuttered.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane suggested that Ramirez apologize — or at least express remorse — for smuggling cocaine.

“Well, yes, I’m remorseful,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez worked with Pedro Lopez, a well-known businessman from Progreso, and Dagoberto “Dago” Treviño, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Progreso City Council, to ship cocaine across the country.

The investigation started in November 2022, when a trucker stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias.

Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration suspected the trucker, Faustino Perez Luna, wasn’t just transporting produce.

Border Patrol sent him to secondary inspection. During a search, agents found about 195 pounds of cocaine hidden in pallets of produce.

The cocaine had been wrapped in cellophane, covered in black tape and coated with motor oil, according to the criminal complaint against Perez.

Along with cocaine, agents found fingerprints.

Ramirez had been arrested in Hidalgo County under the alias “Omar Guzman” in 2014. He’d also served 120 days in federal prison under his real name.

The fingerprints matched.

A grand jury indicted Ramirez on federal drug trafficking charges. He pleaded guilty in March 2024.

As part of his plea, Ramirez admitted that he took bricks of cocaine home, cleaned them and rewrapped them.

“Ramirez stated that he kept the bricks at home until a co-conspirator instructed him to take the narcotics to a job site,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Phelps said during the plea hearing.

Phelps didn’t provide any details about how long Ramirez had smuggled drugs or how much cocaine Ramirez handled during the conspiracy.

“Ramirez stated that he agreed to work each time for $5,000 per trip,” Phelps said.

Two weeks after Ramirez pleaded guilty, DEA agents met with Perez in Beaumont, where he was serving a nearly six-year sentence for smuggling drugs.

“During the interview, PEREZ confirmed that the statements that he provided to agents were truthful,” according to an affidavit filed in a civil forfeiture case, “but inadvertently left several details out during the interview.”

Perez said he worked for Pedro Lopez, a businessman from Progreso, and his brother.

The family owned several businesses, including the 1015 Grocery Store, the El Dorado Event Center and PLL Logistics. 

“PEREZ stated he approached Antonio RAMIREZ-Robledo, one of Pedro LOPEZ’s employees,” according to the affidavit, and said he would transport drugs in exchange for “extra money.”

Lopez pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in November 2024 and received a 10-year prison sentence.

Ramirez returned to court Monday wearing a gray t-shirt.

His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Rikin Shah, and the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarina S. DiPiazza, approached the bench to discuss a sealed motion with Crane, the federal judge.

After the discussion, Crane sentenced Ramirez to time served — the nearly 20 months he’d already spent in jail.

“Good luck to you back in Mexico, Mr. Ramirez,” Crane said. “And you’re excused at this time.”