EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A trucker says a group of armed men stopped his trailer coming out of a Laredo gas station and forced him under threats to transport migrants past a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 35 in South Texas.
The alleged incident took place last week as Birsavith Flores Perez and a passenger named Esteban Rosas picked up a spare tire at a Laredo truck lot and then drove to a gas station on Pan American Boulevard. The truck exited the gas station and proceeded to Mines Road where Flores says a Chevrolet Tahoe blocked its way; several men with guns came out and ordered him to proceed to a side street.
The gunmen then loaded eight migrants onto the truck, ordered Flores to drive north past the checkpoint, and told him they would be following closely to make sure he complied.
That’s the story Flores, a resident of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, told investigators after a canine officer alerted Border Patrol agents to the presence of hidden persons as the truck arrived at the checkpoint on the evening of Dec. 27.
Agents found migrants under a blanket in the trailer, inside a closet compartment and in the sleeping quarters of the semi, court documents show.
The driver and his passenger were taken in for questioning and it was then that Flores told his story. Rosas refused to speak without a lawyer. The agents then turned to the migrants for answers and one of them gave testimony federal officials plan to present in federal court.
Carlos Lopez Menjivar, a citizen of El Salvador, told investigators he crossed into the United States illegally with two other migrants and a “guide” on Dec. 26. The migrant says the group was taken to a home – a stash house – and the next day a vehicle drove him and others to an empty street where a tractor-trailer was waiting.
The Salvadoran told investigators a passenger got off the semi and helped him hide in the trailer so he would not be detected when the truck crossed the checkpoint, court records show. Lopez stated he saw a man sitting in the driver’s seat of the semi as he walked by.
Investigators have made no mention of finding any vehicle with armed men following the truck.
Based on the facts and available information, federal officials filed a criminal complaint accusing Flores and Rosas of unlawful transportation and harboring of illegal aliens in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. They also notified the Salvadoran consulate they would be holding Lopez in the custody of the United States Marshals Service as a material witness for the trial.
Records show Flores was assigned a public defender and has waived his preliminary hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher dos Santos has ordered him held in custody pending trial. Rosas on Monday also waived his preliminary hearing. Other proceedings are pending.
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