Mexico Trucker Online Articles

More wasteful spending – $400 million reallocated to construct border fence

Congress approved a shift of $400 million from technology accounts to construction of the U.S. border fence despite a Customs and Border Protection admission that it cannot be completed by year’s end, officials said Monday.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security agreed to a CBP proposal to transfer funds from other accounts to build the remainder of the 670 miles of border fence.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, voiced disappointment over Congress’ decision to continue to fund “the border wall.”

“It won’t work. It is lethal to people and wildlife and eventually will be torn down,” Foster said.

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Sherman Texas Bus Crash – Angel Tours Bus should not have been in operation

Crews work to move the charter bus off of U.S. Highway 75 near Sherman.

The violations discovered in the bus belonging to Angel Tours that crashed in Sherman Texas Friday morning points to the stupidty and ignorance of a small percentage of people obsessed with ending the Cross Border Pilot Program, which has operated safely for the past 11 months, while ignoring American common carriers who flaunt and ignore the laws and rules thinking it does not apply to them, the bus crash Friday in Sherman Texas that claimed 16 lives is a prime example.

The owner of Angel Tours, 59-year-old Angel de la Torre, should be arrested and detained WITHOUT BAIL and charged with 16 counts of NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE! The idiot bus driver also!

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UN concern at fate of 50 Mexicans on US death row

GENEVA, Aug 8 (Reuters) – The U.N. human rights office voiced concern on Friday for the fate of 50 Mexican nationals on death row in the United States after Texas defied a World Court order and executed one of their compatriots earlier this week.

The United States has an international legal duty to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March 2004 that it had violated its obligations under the Vienna Convention in the cases of 51 Mexican nationals, the U.N. said.

Jose Medellin, executed by lethal injection on Tuesday in Texas for the 1993 rape and murder of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena, was among the 51 named by the ICJ as having been deprived of their right to consular services after their arrests.

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Texas to revoke truckers CDL for smuggling violationsb

AUSTIN — Truckers who smuggle drugs or people into the U.S. are now risking not only prison time but also the loss of their commercial driver’s licenses as Texas uses a longstanding law in a new border crime crackdown.

“Up until today, when those lawbreakers had their trucks apprehended, they were convicted in federal court, they typically paid a small fine or served a brief sentence, then it was back to business as usual. Well, starting today, that all changes,” Gov. “Slick” Rick Perry said Thursday at the Texas Capitol with U.S. Border Patrol sector chiefs.

“If you are a commercial trucker who is involved in the illicit transportation of drugs or humans and you get caught, our effort’s going to be to stop you from being able to drive a truck again for the rest of your life,” he said.

The “Texas Hold ‘Em” initiative is meant to ensure the Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees driver’s licenses, gets documentation of federal smuggling convictions so it can suspend or revoke commercial driver’s licenses under existing law. In the past, there was a gap in convictions being reported, said Judy Brown, chief of the DPS driver license division.

The Texas initiative already has resulted in suspension of commercial driver’s license privileges in Texas in five cases, DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said. Two are Texas licenses, and the other three states — Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina — will be notified so they can revoke those licenses, Mange said. One Texas case was for smuggling drugs; the rest involved smuggling people.

Under state and federal law, people convicted of transporting illegal drugs face a lifetime disqualification of their commercial driver’s license privileges, Brown said.

The disqualification for smuggling unauthorized immigrants is a year’s license suspension for a first offense and a lifetime revocation for a second offense, she said. That’s on top of criminal penalties.

Another feel good initiative from the offices of “Slick Rick” which I doubt will have any deterrent to the problem. If they want to tackle the problem head on, why not do something about the leeches, like “Cadillac Man” in El Paso, “Doc” in Laredo Texas, who facilitate the relationship between smugglers and truckers.

“Alien- and drug-smuggling organizations are aggressively recruiting truck drivers using the promise of easy money, sex and drugs,” said Carlos Carrillo, chief of the Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector.

In these tough economic times, this is an attractive way to make a few extra bucks, but now, unlike in years past, the chances of getting busted are almost 100%. I see it weekly at the CBP checkpoints around Laredo, American trucks in impound having been caught with illegal cargo.

We’ll see how this “Texas Hold Em” Initiative pans out, but I wouldn’t get too excited about it. Only if you are licensed in Texas.

UPDATED: San Antonio police find illegals in parked 18-wheeler

Authorities took a Smithway Motor Express driver into custody after several undocumented immigrants were found inside his 18-wheeler parked at a South Side convenience store.

Undercover drug officers stumbled upon the 18-wheeler during a drug investigation Tuesday night, when they pulled over a man during drug bust at a Shell Gas Station in the 5800 block of South Pan Am Expressway.

As police surrounded the man’s pickup truck, officers heard a noise coming from the nearby 18-wheeler and discovered seven illegal immigrants inside the cab of the truck.

A store clerk told investigators, the big rig had been parked at the truck stop since 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

It’s possible that the men and women were stuck in the vehicle as yesterday’s high flirted near 100 degrees.

Paramedics examined the illegal immigrants before they were placed in Immigration and Custom Enforcement custody.

The driver, who was just hired on May 6, is an employee of Smithway Motor Xpress Inc. based out of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

An official with the trucking company told Mexico Trucker Online that the driver is from Georgia and picked up a load in Del Rio.

This is more proof of what we’ve been saying for years. It isn’t the Mexican Cross Border participants smuggling in the illegals and drugs. Hell, that comes across the border in a different manner not associated with trucks. It is the “patriotic” American professional driver who thinks he can make a quick buck off the misery of others.

And this fool would probably have made it to his destination had he not made the extended stop in San Antonio.

Fake documents freely available on Houston streets

Illegal immigrants fearful of being caught in stepped-up workplace raids are fueling a growing market in Houston for phony immigration and work documents.

The result, experts say, is a glut of false, altered and counterfeit documents that are easily obtained at Houston-area flea markets, businesses and clandestine printing shops set up in homes and apartments. The bogus documents include counterfeit Texas driver’s licenses, fake Social Security and “green cards,” and even worthless international driver’s licenses sold here and in other states.

“You could put all of HPD full time on this thing, and I don’t think we could put a dent in it,” said Lt. Robert Sells, with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s driver’s license fraud unit.

The demand has been so strong that law enforcement officers in Texas have been bribed in recent years to sell the valuable documents, and several dozen have been caught.

An ex-federal prosecutor said heightened enforcement has not only boosted demand for counterfeit documents, but increased the price and quality of the fakes.

“You’re seeing stepped-up law enforcement of the worksite, and that leads to more identity theft and false document prosecution,” said Kevin Lachus, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney now with the Tindall & Foster immigration firm in Houston. “That results in more training for human resource officials, which makes them more expert in spotting documents, and results in even more sophisticated counterfeit identity documents.”

On Houston streets, a top-quality counterfeit green card proving legal residency commands $500, federal agents say. Even shabby green cards bring $15 to $100 while a good-quality package — a driver’s license, green card and Social Security card — can cost $350.

Immigrants sometimes resort to buying real documents from corrupt officials at steep prices.

The most significant recent case involved five immigrants from India and the Caribbean who were fooled by immigration agents posing as crooked law officers. Three were videotaped in a Houston government office last summer as they handed over $15,000 apiece for green cards, according to court records.
Read the rest of the story at Houston Chronicle

Hey, how about that! There are illegals other than Mexicans in the US! Imagine that! I bet that will cause shock and dismay amongst the ranks of the nativists and other looney toons! But hey, if this is the best they can do with fake ID, we have nothing to worry about except for maybe the lazy jerkoffs in LE that can’t tell the difference

Rick Flores takes it back; Sheriff wins by 133 votes

Webb County Sheriff\'s Office – Laredo Texas
More than 14 hours after the recount of the ballots cast in the April 8 runoff for the Webb County sheriff’s race began, a new victor has emerged.Sheriff Rick Flores was declared the winner over challenger Martin Cuellar by 133 votes. Flores garnered 13,128 votes to Cuellar’s 12,995. Flores initially was reported to have lost the contest by 37.

A packed house at the Webb County Justice Center waited until well past 10 p.m. for any sign that the more than 26,000 ballots cast had been finished being recounted when a smiling Flores eventually emerged from the Central Jury room, claiming victory. He was followed out of the Justice Center by a crowd of cheering supporters.

Meanwhile, a calm but disappointed Cuellar remained behind thanking supporters and thinking over his options.

“We’re kind of disappointed, but I want to thank the voters for their support,” he said. “They’ve been very, very supportive, and we’re going to make it. I’ll talk to my attorneys and look at my options. I want to make sure and protect the will of the voters.”

Asked if he thought any fraud or corruptive element was behind the swing, Cuellar’s campaign manager, Colin Strother, said the numbers indicated something peculiar.

“That big of a change is highly unusual, and there are considerable questions about the process,” he said.

Tensions ran high after the announcement, with Cuellar’s supporters claiming that the election judge who oversaw the recount, Jose Salvador Tellez Sr., should not have been selected.

Tellez told supporters that they were out of line and warned them to be careful of what they said.
Read the rest of the story from the Laredo Morning Times

The best man retains the office. Felicidades Rick! We certainly didn’t need a Cuellar dynasty in Webb County

U.S. bus company owners indicted in drug smuggling conspiracy

Editors Note: Despite what some of the “white trash” right wing blogs, whose mission in life is to trash Mexico is claiming, a US owned bus companies owners and employees came under indictment this week for using company equipment to smuggle drugs from the Rio Grande Valley to points north. Good catch, but why did it take so long?

Eighteen persons, including alleged drug traffickers and the owners/operators of commercial bus companies operating from Mexico into the Rio Grande Valley to numerous U.S. cities and their drivers, have been indicted for transporting large loads of marijuana and cocaine in specially modified commercial buses and money laundering.

The need for more marijuana rehab centers is becoming more apparent as the number of marijuana abusers grows each day.

The indictment is the result of a long-term Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed Operation Road King II.

United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced the unsealing of the indictment today at a press conference. The 16-count indictment returned by a Houston grand jury March 31, 2008, was unsealed today.

John P. Walters, the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, on an official visit to the Houston area, attended the press conference and commented upon the positive impact the coordinated and cooperative effort federal, state and local law enforcement action has had on reducing the supply of drugs and the concomitant reduction in demand.

Special Agent in Charge Andrew Bland of FBI Houston, together with Special Agent in Charge Zoran B. Yankovich of DEA Houston, recognized their law enforcement colleagues in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) which, in this case, included the Houston Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for their long-standing commitment and outstanding contributions to this OCDETF investigation. The U.S. Marshals Service, also a member of HIDTA, was recognized for its extraordinary efforts during the arrest process.

The indictment, unsealed today, describes the use of specially modified commercial buses by alleged drug traffickers interested in smuggling contraband into the United States from Monterrey, Mexico, or transporting contraband from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston and Dallas, Texas; Allentown, Pa.; Joliet, Ill. and elsewhere. The indictment alleges the owners or managers of the Transtar, Neptune Tours, Los Primos, USA-MEX and Ameri-Mex commercial bus companies, with offices and terminals in Monterrey, Mexico and Rio Grande City, Roma, San Antonio and Houston, Texas, used their various companies as a front for their drug transport services, and hired drivers and loaders to transport the illegal cargo in hidden compartments built into the bus or in areas not accessible to the public. In exchange for the services, the indictment alleges the owners/managers of the bus companies received thousands of dollars in kickbacks from the proceeds of the drug loads from which they drew their share and paid the drivers and loaders.

According to the indictment, this drug transport service has been in operation since at least November 2001 and is responsible for transporting hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, thousands of pounds of marijuana from the border to points north and millions of dollars in drug proceeds south to Mexico.

OCEDTF Operation Road King II targeted this organization beginning in 2001 and through the use of tried and true investigative techniques, communication, coordination and cooperation, ultimately established a more sophisticated undercover operation. Through that undercover operation, more than 570 kilograms of cocaine, 3,000 plus pounds of marijuana and the thousands of dollars in cash have been seized. Additionally, this multi-agency investigative effort has lead to arrests in and the seizure of 200 kilograms of cocaine in Allentown and 1,100 pounds of marijuana in Joliet. Information gathered through the investigation was shared with law enforcement agencies in other U.S. cities including New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Maryland.

The indictment identifies Abel Trevino Jr., 43, of Houston; Oscar Jaime Garcia Prado, 42, a resident alien residing in Brookshire, Texas; Miguel Montemayor, 39, a resident alien residing in Roma, Texas; Victor Hinojosa, 41, a resident alien residing in Houston; and Eduardo Trevino, 40, of Linares, Mexico, as the owners/managers of the various commercial bus companies operating as fronts for transporting cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to various locations in the U.S. in exchange for cash payments. The amount of the payment often depended upon the kind of drug, the size of the load and its ultimate destination. For example, the indictment alleges the defendants charge from $500 per kilogram of cocaine bound for the U.S. side of the border to $7,000 per kilogram of cocaine bound for New York. The buses were specially equipped with hidden compartments to conceal loads of contraband from detection. According to allegations in the indictment, the owner/managers discussed ways to operate their buses to protect themselves from detection by law enforcement including changing the names of the bus companies as loads of cocaine and marijuana were seized to claiming the buses were leased to others. Abel Trevino, Montemayor and Hinojosa were arrested today in Houston. A warrant remains outstanding for the arrest of Prado and Eduardo Trevino.

Leticia Enedina Fournier, 58; Guadalupe Karr Cortez, 47, an illegal alien, Jesse Trevino, 48, a resident alien, and Alejandro Carmargo-Guerra, 59, a resident alien, all of Houston; Victor Rocha, 39, a resident alien residing in Dickinson, Texas, and Enrique Alvaro Saldana, 53, a resident alien residing in Roma, Texas, are alleged co-conspirators hired by the owner/managers as bus drivers and loaders who were paid by the owners/managers to transport and deliver the drug loads hidden aboard the commercial buses as directed by the owners/managers. This morning, investigating agents arrested Trevino and Rocha in Houston, Carmargo-Guerra in Waco, Texas, and Cortez in Lake Charles, La. Warrants remain outstanding for the arrest of Fournier and Saldana.

Guadalupe Castaneda, 46, of Roma, Texas; Eduardo Cirilo, 42, of Pharr, Texas; Eduardo Salinas, 29, of Mission, Texas; Jose Armando Muniz, 33, of Weslaco, Texas; Rafael Armando Ramirez, 32, an illegal alien residing in the Houston area; Luis Larios, 36, and Robert Salazar Rivera, 48, both of Monterrey, Mexico, are accused of utilizing and paying for the services of the bus companies to transport loads of cocaine and marijuana to various locations in the United States. Eduardo Salinas was arrested this morning in McAllen, Texas, while Cirilo was arrested today in Baton Rouge, La. Warrants remain outstanding for the arrest of Castaneda, Muniz, Ramirez, Larios and Rivera.

All 18 defendants are charged in the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and face no less than 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment if convicted. Most of the defendants are also charged with conspiracy to launder drug proceeds and face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment if convicted. The remaining 14 counts of the indictment charge various defendants with aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute varying amounts of either cocaine for marijuana and face punishment ranges upon conviction from a maximum of five years imprisonment to life imprisonment and millions of dollars in fines.

The indictment also serves notice on the defendants of the intent of the United States to forfeit their interests in a number of real properties located in east Houston, Texas, which were allegedly used to facilitate or obtained with proceeds from the crimes alleged in the indictment.

This case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Rodriguez.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.

Operation Road King II, a multi-agency investigation into bus operators who allegedly smuggled drugs, netted a 16-count federal indictment unsealed Wednesday against:

OWNERS:
Miguel Montemayor, 39, of Roma (in custody)
Abel Treviño, 43, of Houston (in custody)
Victor Hinojosa, 41, of Houston (in custody)
Oscar Jaime Garcia Prado, 42, of Brookshire
Eduardo Treviño, 41, of Linares, Tamps.

DRIVERS:
Enrique Alvaro Saldaña, 53, of Roma
Jesse Treviño, 48, of Houston (in custody)
Victor Rocha, 39, of Dickinson (in custody)
Alejandro Camargo-Guerra, 59, of Houston (in custody)
Leticia Endedina Fournier, 58, of Houston

DRUG SUPPLIERS:
Guadalupe Castañeda, 46, of Roma
Eduardo Cirilo, 42, of Pharr (in custody)
Eduardo Salinas, 29, of Mission (in custody)
Jose Armando Muñiz, 33, of Weslaco
Rafael Armando Ramirez, 32, of Houston
Luis Larios, 36, of Monterrey, N.L.
Robert Salazar Rivera, 48, of Monterrey, N.L.