Eagle Pass Border Patrol Agents arrest suspect in alien-smuggling case

Del Rio, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Station arrested a Mexican national early Tuesday after finding 19 people hidden in the pickup truck he was driving.

Agents working near the intersection of FM 2011 and FM 2644, around 3 a.m. Tuesday, attempted to perform an immigration check on a vehicle after it passed them at a high rate of speed. After stopping once and pulling away, the vehicle – a 2007 Ford F-250 pickup – eventually stopped on FM 2644.

The driver, a 40-year-old Mexican citizen, had a small amount of cocaine in his possession. Agents found a total of 19 people hiding in the pickup truck. The driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for federal prosecution for alien smuggling (8 USC 1324). Of the 19 passengers in the pickup, nine were from Mexico, six were from El Salvador and four were from Guatemala. Seven of the group were juveniles, including a 20-month-old.

The Del Rio Border Patrol Sector is part of the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.