Mexico Trucker Online

EL PASO — Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents arrested a San Elizario, Texas man on Thursday after he was indicted on sex tourism charges, authorities said.

A federal grand jury indicted Gustavo Solis-Martinez, 35, on July 16 for allegedly traveling out of the country with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a teenage girl in Juárez, a federal offense under the PROTECT Act.

PROTECT, which stands for Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today, was signed into law in 2003.

“Sex tourism is a federal offense that ICE investigates aggressively with the assistance of our international law enforcement partners,” said Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso. “This case exemplifies the level of international resolve to ensure that those who prey on children do not go unpunished.”

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The newest outrage against Mexico going around the blogosphere and on the rabid right wing talk shows and overnight conspiracy fests, is the story of personnel of the Mexican Army being involved in a home invasion and murder in Phoenix Arizona.

When I first heard this, I believe it was on Lou Dobbs nightly hatefest, I was incredulous at the stupidity of the report and that anyone with a lick of sense would believe it.

Now, KFYI in Phoenix is reporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement is saying,

mmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said three suspects arrested in a Monday morning Phoenix home invasion and homicide were not members of the Mexican Army.

“We have no indication whatsoever that any of the individuals were involved with formal military in Mexico,” said Vincent Picard of ICE.

That should be enough to put to rest the rumor mill, and heaven forbid, a retraction from those reporting to the contrary, but we know that hasn’t happened nor will it.

 

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They are believed to have smuggled hundreds of illegal immigrants into the United States but now, 41 truck drivers, guides, brokers, recruiters and smuggling leaders are facing criminal charges.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents started the investigation in Laredo but made the arrests across several American cities over the last seven weeks.

Investigators said the group used truck drivers to smuggle at least 376 illegal immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras into the United States.

Most of the immigrants were discovered tractor trailers and attempting to pass through different checkpoints in and around Laredo.

Most of the discoveries were made during routine inspections after they noticed suspicious activity coming from inside the trailers or they were alerted by on-site canines on duty.

Each immigrant allegedly paid $500 to $3,000 depending on their destination.

All 41 of the accused human smugglers have already appeared before a federal judge to face formal charges and have been provided a court date to plead their case.

UPDATE
From WOAI Channel 4

Most of the truck drivers arrested were from the U.S. Those arrested also include smuggling guides, brokers, recruiters and organizational heads.

Mexican trucks, especially the participants in the Cross Border Program, despite what the anti-Mexican crowd would like you to believe, are not the ones trying to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S. And interesting week in Laredo with the seizure of street drugs valued at $3.2 million dollars.

A five-day span during which Customs and Border Protection officials in Laredo seized more than $3 million of narcotics illustrates the different techniques drug cartels will use to ensure their operations are successful, CBP officials said.From Wednesday through Sunday, commercial buses, footwear and non-commercial vehicles were used by men and women ages 21 to 70 in smuggling attempts that ended with large drug seizures. Read More at LMT Online or by clicking the NEWS SOURCE links below

And despite other websites with an ant-Mexican agenda who have been reporting about the 18 wheelers being founds with massive amounts of drugs coming out of Mexico, the truth seems to be that these trucks, most of them, are American owned being operated by opportunistic Professional American Truck Drivers.

When others were reporting about the 4 or 5 rigs that were seized a couple of weeks ago crossing the border from Mexico, we discovered the truth was actually the trucks in question were seized at the 28 mile marker checkpoint on I-35.

The photo at the left are two of the vehicles, one belonging to Stevens Transport of Dallas Texas.  Not pictured,  were trucks belonging to Celadon Trucking of Indianapolis Indiana and James R. Smith Trucking.

The cartels still try on occasion to bring drugs across the border in trailers or truck cabs, but they are inevitably caught and the drivers turned over to ICE for prosecution.

Our southern border is not as porous as some would have you believe. Nor will a fence stem the tide of drugs.

Only when the demand in this country is stemmed, will we see a reduction in the cross border drug trade As the US economy continues to tank, I’m afraid we’ll be seeing more of this happening

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents met Mexican federal agents on the Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge on Wednesday to transfer custody of a prisoner wanted in Mexico for homicide and drug trafficking, authorities said.Officials with the Agencia Federal de Investigacion, who took custody of Juan Garcia-Flores, 36, said he is wanted in Guanajuato and the border state Coahuila.

Though ICE officials only confirmed the alleged drug trafficking, AFI agent Jesus Garcia said Garcia-Flores was also being sought on homicide charges in Mexico.

He declined to comment on how long Garcia-Flores had been sought by Mexican law enforcement. Garcia did not clarify whether the alleged homicide occurred in Coahuila or Guanajuato.

According to ICE, Garcia-Flores sold and distributed marijuana in Mexico.

U.S. officials turned Garcia-Flores over to Mexican agents after he served a five-year prison sentence at the Three Rivers Correctional Institute, located about 120 miles northeast of Laredo.

Shackled and surrounded by at least three ICE agents at all times, Garcia-Flores, dressed in a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, carried a small duffel bag and walked across the bridge in silence. He was met in the middle of the bridge by at least a half-dozen AFI agents bearing automatic guns across their chests.

After being unshackled at the ankles by U.S. agents, AFI authorities strapped a body armor vest on Garcia-Flores before escorting him into Nuevo Laredo.

On the U.S. side of the Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge, ICE agents from San Antonio’s Special Response Team and Laredo’s ICE division secured the perimeter before walking onto the bridge. They entered through a gate located at the dead-end corner of Santa Ursula Avenue and Zaragosa Street.

ICE agents also sat inside a vehicle at the corner of the streets holding rifles and other vehicles blocked in the van carrying Garcia-Flores.

Garcia-Flores’ prison sentence in the United States was the result of a March 2003 conviction for possession of more than 100 pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute, ICE said. Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for ICE, said he was also arrested in 1990 for possession of cocaine.

On Nov. 29, 2007, Garcia-Flores was released from Three Rivers and taken into ICE custody. At that time he began immigration proceedings, which includes appearing before a judge in immigration court for a determination on his status in the United States, Pruneda said.

The prisoner transfer Wednesday is an example of the cooperation between Mexican and U.S. officials to catch criminals on both sides of the border, Pruneda said. Anytime someone is wanted for a crime in Mexico, ICE does its part to help, and vice versa, Pruneda said.

“Those who think they can outrun the reach of the law by hiding out in the United States will find out otherwise,” said Marc J. Moore, field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in San Antonio, in an e-mailed statement. “ICE is working closely with our law enforcement counterparts both here and abroad to ensure that the United States is not used as a refuge for criminals or violent offenders.”