A man claims cartel members in Reynosa forced him to drive a tractor-trailer carrying 35 people in the country illegally by threatening to harm his family, according to a criminal complaint.
Federal authorities said Sebastian Salinas-Macias arrived at the Falfurrias checkpoint about 1:15 a.m. Monday in a blue tractor trailer.
During an immigration inspection, the complaint said Salinas was telling a Border Patrol agent that he was hauling mixed produce when another agent’s canine alerted to the trailer. Agents also noticed that the security seal on the door of the trailer had been tampered with, according to the complaint.
When agents opened the trailer, they used a flashlight to see under the pallets and found what looked like human feet, according to the complaint, which said the inspection revealed several people were wedged tightly together.
“The individuals had a hard time moving out of the gap due to the amount of people that were in the gap,” the complaint said.
While Salinas was being booked, the complaint said he made an “excited utterance … that both he and his family were being threatened with harm if he did not agree to take the individuals in his trailer.”
During an interview with federal special agents, Salinas said he was contacted by an unknown man on his cellphone who made the threats, according to the complaint.
“Salinas-Macias further explained that he was sent a picture of his house and that the unknown persons knew where he and his family lived,” the complaint said.
The complaint also noted that all of the people who were packed in the trailer appeared to be in good health.
Salinas is scheduled to make a first appearance Wednesday in a Corpus Christi federal court.
