The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 23, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Tuesday, December 23rd, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans managing editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, alleged senior leaders of the Venezuelan transnational narco-terrorist organization, Trend de Aragua, or TDA, have been indicted in Texas. Nicholas Ganjay, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, announced in a video posted on X on Thursday that his office, quote, unsealed a six-count superseding indictment against four defendants for international cocaine trafficking as well as conspiring to provide, and successful in providing, material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Starting point is 00:00:52 Ganjay said the defendants belong to TDA, a, quote, vicious and violent foreign narco-terrorist organization. The organization's criminal activities include, but are not limited to, robbery, fraud, extortion, theft, kidnapping, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, commercial sex trafficking, murder, assault, and, quote, other acts of violence to enforce and further the organization's criminal activities. 19 alleged members are currently under indictment in the Southern District of Texas, with this case being one of four that Ganjay's office has against the organization. Next, a woodlands-based businessman was convicted by a federal jury for his involvement in a bribery scheme involving Mexican government officials,

Starting point is 00:01:39 collecting around $2.5 million in benefits for companies associated with him. Ramon Alejandro Rovirosa Martinez, who's both a citizen of Mexico and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. was handed down his conviction on December 5th, 2025, which included multiple counts involving violation of and conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company involved in the bribery scheme is Pemex, which is Mexico's state-owned oil company, and Pemex Exploracion e Production, Pemex's, quote, wholly owned exploration and production subsidiary. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galliotti of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division asserted in a press release on December 5th, quote,

Starting point is 00:02:28 Alejandro Rovirosa orchestrated a scheme to bribe Mexican officials to benefit himself and his companies. In other news, the Houston Independent School District State-appointed Board of Managers unanimously approved the sale of five district properties at a December 11th board meeting. The properties included three vacant campuses, a former district administrative facility, and former North Forest ISD land that Houston ISD acquired in 1996. The largest property was a portion of the former North Forest ISD land, totaling roughly 200 acres, according to county appraisal records. Houston ISD elected three school trustees in the November 2025 election,

Starting point is 00:03:10 even though the district remains under state control until 2027. At a December 11th meeting, Houston ISD trustee-elect Dr. Maria Benzon spoke against the board of managers' decision to sell district land. Also, many Texas public school districts are opening enrollment to out-of-district students in response to statewide enrollment declines, budget shortfalls, and growing demand for expanded school choice. Open enrollment programs, also referred to as limited open enrollment, allow students who live outside a district's boundaries to attend schools in that. district, based on staffing and availability. These programs are on a first-come, first-served basis, and eligible students must meet criteria related to attendance, academic standing, and discipline history. Accepted students or their parents must provide transportation. Open enrollment approvals can be revoked for various reasons, including violations of district policies,

Starting point is 00:04:07 as well as attendance, academic, or behavioral concerns. Some districts have accepted out-of-district students for years, with Deer Park ISD beginning in 2003, Arlington ISD in 2013, and Garland ISD by at least 2022. In addition, William Ed Dias, a native Texan, was an officer and pilot active in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The Japanese captured him after the American surrender in the Philippines in April 1942, where he became a prisoner of war. Visit the texan. News to read reporter Hannah Brewer's article on the final flight of Ed Dias. Last but not least, visit the Texan. News to join senior editor McKenzie Delulo and Brad Johnson for their final episode of smoke-filled room as they reflect on the top stories from

Starting point is 00:04:57 2025, Brad's departure from the Texan, and to look forward to 2026. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles. newsletters and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 23, 2025

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.