By Mike Bibb

Upon entering New Mexico, the roadside signs proudly announce, "Welcome to the Land of Enchantment."

Apparently, there's more meaning in the phrase than most people suspect.

Especially, if the foreign traveler happens to be associated with one of the world's most violent gangs, Venezuela's Tren de Aragua. Even more enchanting if a former cop and now judge invites the gangster into his home, has a few beers, passes around a military style semi-auto rifle, flashes gang signs and poses for selfies.

(Tren de Aragua translates into "Aragua Train." Aragua is a state in Venezuela.)

Could it get any more weird? Maybe if the judge and his wife let the foreign gang member share their home's facilities and even use the address for ICE purposes.

Golly, America really is the land of enchantment. Or at least, Las Cruces, New Mexico is.

When, somehow, pictures of Judge Joel Cano and several suspicious characters holding beers, flashing gang signs in Cano's backyard — including Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged Tren de Aragua member — were leaked to the media, Judge Cano abruptly and without announcement, resigned from the court, went silent and disappeared.

No explanation, excuses or made-up tall tales. Equally bizarre, there's been very little mention from the governor and New Mexico's Democrat Party on how a local judge came to be friends with an undocumented gang member or how or why that gang member was allowed to reside on the judge's property?

Presently, Blue New Mexico is also using the National Guard to assist the Albuquerque Police Department in helping to control crime, and now a Las Cruces judge has been caught hanging with foreign gang members.

Not good optics, no matter how the situation is ultimately spun by the Democrats and press.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into the case since, almost certainly, there's much more to the story.

Namely, how long has the craziness been going on; what nefarious behavior has taken place; who else is involved; how far up local and state government agencies do the transgressions go and how much influence and money have foreign gangs infiltrated into various New Mexico administrative departments?

Whatever the case, it just looks awfully dubious why a senior-aged judge would invite a young Venezuelan gangster into his home, entertain him and a few of his friends, allow the guy to use his residence as a reference address to comply with Customs and Enforcement regulations and then when the news — and pictures — goes public, the judge suddenly exits the stage.

Parts of this puzzle will eventually be filled in. It is simply too peculiar to ignore or go away.