The mayor of a small Texas border town is the latest politically connected person to be arrested by federal authorities on drug trafficking charges. The mayor’s younger brother and former school board president has also been charged with similar charges since his arrest in late 2023.
This week, Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested Gerald “Jerry” Alaniz, the mayor of Progreso, Texas, on criminal charges of possession with intent to distribute large amounts of cocaine and drug conspiracy charges. Alanis has already appeared before a magistrate judge and remains in federal custody pending further court proceedings.
Alaniz is an employee of the Progresso Independent School District, and his brother Francisco “Frank” Alaniz is a former school board president and city manager. As Breitbart Texas reported, federal authorities first arrested Frank Alaniz on cocaine trafficking charges in October 2023 as part of the same criminal indictment. Seven people are currently facing criminal charges.
As reported by Dave Hendricks: CBS4The case first began in 2020, when U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped Progreso ISD school bus driver Joe Rosbel Salas and found 30 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside his private truck. . After his arrest, Mr. Salas cooperated with federal investigators and was sentenced to four years in prison, rather than a life sentence. This cooperation appears to have led authorities to the Alanis brothers. The Alanis brothers are members of a large political family that has been deeply involved in Progreso politics for more than a decade. They came to power a few years after the FBI arrested several members of another family named Vera in 2014, who at the time controlled the city and school board. As Breitbart Texas reported, the Berra family used their positions on the school board and city hall to collect numerous bribes.
The Alanis brothers made headlines locally in 2023 when they entered Progreso from Mexico in an intoxicated state with open containers of alcohol. Video of the incident aired by CBS4 shows the brothers confronting federal agents while in custody. After the two were released on misdemeanor charges, Frank Alanis bragged to authorities about the large wad of cash and the “$20,000” Rolex he had on him.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart, Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Breitbart’s senior management team.you can follow him twitter And even more Facebook. He can be contacted at: iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Breitbart Texas Cartel His Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart’s senior management team.follow him twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at: bdarby@breitbart.com.
