EL PASO, TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
EL PASO, Texas – An illegal alien from Mexico pleaded guilty in a federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, to four charges including conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, Daniel Santana-Lopez, 40, of Guanajuato, Mexico, purchased an RV on June 14, 2024, for $18,000 in cash. Following the purchase, Santana-Lopez provided the RV to another individual in Georgia for the purpose of trafficking firearms from the United States into Mexico.
On July 20, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protections officers conducting outbound inspections at the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry encountered the RV and discovered multiple firearms, magazines and ammunition wrapped in plastic and concealed inside a propane tank. A fingerprint analysis revealed Santana-Lopez’s fingerprints on the plastic wrapping.
Santana-Lopez, who was employed as a mechanic at a DeKalb County auto repair shop in Georgia, was arrested on Oct. 23, 2024. Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Georgia charged him with seven counts related to drug trafficking and one illegal re-entry count, as Santana-Lopez had previously been removed from the U.S. in 2014 and 2017.
Santana-Lopez was later charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas with one count of conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in federal prison.
On Tuesday, Santana-Lopez pleaded guilty to the firearms trafficking conspiracy charge. He also pleaded guilty to three of the Northern District of Georgia charges: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substance—both of which carry a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence—as well as the illegal re-entry.
The venue for the case will remain in Atlanta and a federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, North Georgia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement with valuable assistance provided by the DeKalb County Police Department and DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Serwatka is prosecuting the case for the Western District of Texas. Assistant United States Attorney Dwayne A. Brown, Jr. is prosecuting the case for the Northern District of Georgia.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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