7,300 Gallons of Ethanol and No Papers: Texas Affidavit Says CJNG-Linked Cash Was Laundered at a Hidalgo Fuel Depot Across From Reynosa — Now It’s ‘Completely Empty’
A fuel depot in Hidalgo, Texas, on the Rio Grande across from Reynosa, was the site of “laundering bulk U.S. currency linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel” in July 2026, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety affidavit filed in a civil forfeiture case, ValleyCentral and Border Report reported on Oct. 13, 2026. The depot, called Patio Paraiso, came to light after troopers stopped a tanker truck carrying about 7,300 gallons of ethanol with no legitimate paperwork. The site has since been emptied.
A tanker stop on Aug. 22
According to ValleyCentral, a DPS trooper stopped the tanker on Aug. 22 near South 10th Street and Bales Road. The criminal complaint cited “unusual marks on the side of the tank” suggesting it had been filled with a large hose, and the driver could not show where the ethanol came from or where it was going. The driver, Martin Alejandro Balderas Lozano, 46, of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, told agents he loaded it at Patio Paraiso, a fenced, roughly 2-acre lot on Val-Mex Road near the Payne Arena. The affidavit says he “made approximately two trips per week from Mexico into the United States.”
DPS seized the truck and charged Balderas with transporting motor fuel without a manifest or shipping papers, a second-degree felony. He is not charged with any cartel crime, and the cartel allegation concerns activity at the depot, not him. He was released on a personal recognizance bond after about three days in jail and did not respond to ValleyCentral. The affidavit says details of the laundering were withheld because of an ongoing federal investigation, and a DPS spokeswoman, Sgt. Maria Hernandez, declined to comment further.
‘Completely empty’
ValleyCentral reported that Patio Paraiso shut down after the arrest and that trucks hauled away its tanks within days. It is unclear who ran it: at least four corporations have been linked to the site in state records over four years, and the property owner, a businessman who died in September, was never accused of wrongdoing. “It’s empty. Completely empty,” Hidalgo Police Chief Romeo Rodriguez said. “This is a very lucrative business. And they’re not going to stop.”
How the fuel trade works
ValleyCentral, citing the U.S. Treasury and FinCEN, reported that people tied to the CJNG smuggle stolen Pemex crude north, often labeled as waste oil, while the cartel launders money by buying fuel in the U.S. and selling it at affiliated gas stations in Mexico. Treasury sanctioned CJNG-linked fuel smugglers in May 2025 and June 2026. For the border crossing nearby, see our Reynosa–McAllen guide.
Sources
- ValleyCentral (Dave Hendricks): “Mysterious fuel depot in Hidalgo may be linked to Jalisco New Generation Cartel” (Oct. 13, 2026)
- Border Report: “Mysterious fuel depot might be linked to Jalisco cartel” (Oct. 13, 2026)
- Photos: Patio Paraiso and Val-Mex Road by Dave Hendricks, and FinCEN graphic, via ValleyCentral.com.
Reported Oct. 13, 2026, from ValleyCentral and Border Report’s account of the DPS affidavit and criminal complaint. The cartel link is an allegation in a court filing; no one has been charged with laundering, and authorities have not said who operated the depot.