U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested half-a-dozen suspected smugglers over the holiday weekend, including one who was armed and another who said he needed money to pay for his wedding.
In all, authorities detained 40 people in the country illegally during several smuggling attempts throughout the Rio Grande Valley, which are detailed in federal complaints filed Monday.
On Thursday, Border Patrol agents arrested Francisco Julian Andres Ramirez, a United States citizen born in 1998, while conducting operations near Escobares.
“Using an infrared camera, the agent observed a raft carrying around forty (40) subjects crossing the river. After landing on the riverbank, the subjects ran north through the brush,” the complaint said.
Agents requested assistance from another agent who was riding with the Texas Department of Public Safety in an unmarked vehicle, and after a few minutes, the agents saw people boarding a maroon Chevrolet Suburban.
A short pursuit then ensued, which ended with Ramirez attempting to flee on foot, according to Border Patrol.
“The agent chased him and tackled him to the ground and placed (him) under arrest,” the complaint said. “Ramirez immediately uttered ‘I’m sorry, I was just trying to help them out.’ During the arrest, the agent recovered a gun that Ramirez had in his hand.”
Border Patrol also found 14 people who they determined to be in the country illegally during this smuggling event.
Agents also arrested Ruben Miguel Aguirre, a United States citizen born in 1998, on Thursday near Rio Grande City after they saw a gray Ford Expedition parked near U.S. Highway 83.
Authorities watched the Expedition, driven by Aguirre, move to another location where several people emerged from the brush and entered the vehicle.
Agents followed the Expedition as it entered an alleyway, parked in a residential neighborhood and lost sight of the driver, who was wearing a yellow shirt and a straw hat, the complaint said.
DPS troopers and Border Patrol agents approached the Expedition and noted that Aguirre had fled, but they did find five people in the country illegally.
“The male subject was walking across the street from the alleyway and residence where the Expedition was parked,” the complaint said. “Agents approached the male subject and identified him as Ruben Miguel Aguirre, a United States citizen. A brief search of the area resulted in agents finding the straw hat, which was worn by the driver, in the backyard of the house Aguirre was seen walking from.”
During an interview, he told investigators he had wrecked a smuggler’s vehicle during a failed smuggling attempt and agreed to smuggle again to pay the smuggler back, according to the complaint.
Also on Thursday, Border Patrol responded to an area near the Rio Grande after a remote video surveillance system operator reported seeing eight people running north toward a Brownsville Public Utility Board building.
After a search, agents arrested Francisco Diaz-Padron, a Matamoros man born in 2003, after he admitted to smuggling eight people into the country illegally for financial gain, according to a complaint.
On Friday, agents arrested Raul Hernandez-Vazquez, a Mexican citizen born in 1998, while conducting surveillance about noon in the city of Hidalgo near 23rd Street.
Border Patrol says in the complaint the area is a popular smuggling location because it’s close to the Rio Grande and has access to major roadways.
While watching the area, agents saw a silver Dodge Ram pickup truck believed to be involved in a previous smuggling attempt leave the location before arriving at an orchard, where 10 people emerged and entered the truck, according to the complaint.
Border Patrol agents initiated a traffic stop, but Hernandez fled and led them on a brief chase before crashing into a parked car at a business.
He told investigators he contacted a smuggler for work because he needed money to pay for his wedding, according to the complaint.
Border Patrol agents also arrested a Brownsville man named Sean Bourque at the Sarita checkpoint about 11:30 a.m. Friday after he tried to smuggle a person through the checkpoint.
Bourque told agents he met his passenger at a Valero gas station in Brownsville and agreed to travel with him to Houston for work.
“When asked if he knew the passenger was illegally present, Bourque stated, ‘No,’ because he is not a Border Patrol Agent and cannot determine citizenship,” the complaint said.
On Saturday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Diana Quezada-Alvarez, a United States citizen born in 1984, at the Roma Port of Entry.
CBP officers allege she tried to smuggle a 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy into the country by claiming they were her children.
The children, however, were from Miguel Aleman and she later told investigators she was going to be paid $3,000 for bringing them into the country illegally with a final destination of Houston, according to the complaint.
All of the suspects were scheduled for first appearances Monday in front of federal magistrate judges in McAllen, Brownsville and Corpus Christi.
