One person pleaded guilty in connection with a federal drug trafficking investigation that’s linked to former Progreso Mayor Gerardo Alanis, court records show.

Arturo Aleman pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

“He’s accepted responsibility, I expect a positive result,” Aleman’s attorney, Rick Salinas, said.

As part of his plea deal, Aleman confessed to assisting with the purchase of tractor-trailers to be used to transport cocaine outside the Rio Grande Valley.

The plea deal says the tractor-trailers were used in the same drug conspiracy that led to the arrests of Alanis and his brother, former Progreso Assistant City Manager and Progreso school board Trustee Francisco Javier Alanis.

READ MORE: Progreso mayor accused of storing, packaging narcotics in middle school

The arrests of the Alanis brothers are linked to the August 2020 arrest of Jose Rosbel Salas, who was caught with 30 pounds of cocaine hidden in his truck at the Sarita checkpoint.

Rosbel, a former bus drive with the Progreso school district, pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in November 2023, and is cooperating with authorities, according to previous reports.

A total of eight people were charged in connection with Rosbel’s arrest. 

The Alanis brothers are due in court in October for jury selection.

According to Aleman’s plea deal, prosecutors recommend a sentence at the low end of advisory guidelines. Aleman’s conspiracy charge is punishable by 10 years to life in federal prison. 

Sentencing for Aleman is set for January.