Texas-based Army soldiers charged in alleged human smuggling operation after border chase
Three U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Texas have been charged in an alleged human smuggling operation involving noncitizens from Mexico and Guatemala, federal officials said.
According to a Justice Department news release, Emilio Mendoza Lopez, Angel Palma and Enrique Jauregui are all U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Cavazos near Killeen, Texas, about 70 miles north of Austin.
All three soldiers have been charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens, while Palma and Jauregui face an additional charge of assaulting a federal agent, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
"We are aware of the arrest of three Fort Cavazos Soldiers. III Armored Corps will continue to cooperate with all federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies," a spokesperson for Fort Cavazos told Paste BN in a statement on Wednesday.
All three soldiers are assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, according to the spokesperson. Palma is an infantryman from McFarland, California; Jauregui is a Stryker systems maintainer from Tacoma, Washington; and Mendoza Lopez is a wheeled vehicle mechanic from Bensenville, Illinois, the spokesperson said.
It is unclear if the three soldiers have legal counsel as none of them have attorneys listed in court records.
What are the Fort Cavazos soldiers accused of?
On Nov. 27, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent stopped a vehicle in Presidio, Texas but the car fled as the agent approached the passenger side, according to the Justice Department. The fleeing vehicle hit a Border Patrol vehicle, subsequently injuring an agent inside, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Texas.
Presidio County deputies and police officers managed to stop the fleeing vehicle and apprehended four people, including a noncitizen from Mexico and two other noncitizens from Guatemalan, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The fourth person in the vehicle was Mendoza Lopez, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, according to the criminal complaint.
The driver, who was allegedly Palma, fled on foot until he was found the following day at a hotel in Odessa, Texas, the Justice Department said. Mendoza Lopez and Palma are accused of traveling from Fort Cavazos to Presidio "for the purpose of picking up and transporting undocumented noncitizens," according to a news release.
Jauregui is accused of being the recruiter and facilitator of the alleged human smuggling conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Mendoza Lopez made his initial court appearance on Monday, while Palma's and Jauregui's hearings are scheduled for Dec. 6 in Waco, Texas.
Presidio is located about 480 miles southwest of Killeen on the U.S.-Mexico border.
More about Fort Cavazos
In 2023, Fort Cavazos had 59,695 direct employees, of which, 38,642 were active-duty military personnel, according to the Texas Comptroller.
Fort Cavazos also covers a total of 340 square miles and supports multiple units and a corps headquarters, the U.S. Army post's website says.