EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An American citizen pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired with two Mexican “foot guides” to transport migrants in the U.S.
The charges against Francisco Rivera, Alexis Luna Ramirez and Juan Zuniga Chavarria stem from a Dec. 19 arrest west of the Tornillo, Texas, port of entry. Rivera allegedly drove a 2012 Nissan Altima that picked up five men who came out barefoot from a pecan orchard.
Federal officials say the orchards and cotton fields in Clint and Tornillo farms are often used without consent of the owners by transnational criminal organizations in Juarez, Mexico, in an attempt to conceal illegal entries into the United States.
U.S. Border Patrol agents who responded to a electronic sensors alerting them to an illegal crossing along the Rio Grande allegedly witnessed four of the men get into the Altima and one being stuffed into the trunk.
The agents intercepted the vehicle along Texas State Highway 20 and documented that everyone in the vehicle except Rivera were Mexican citizens illegally present in the United States.
According to a complaint affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Rivera allegedly told agents he knew it is against the law to transport migrants and that he could “make up to $1,500 per illegal alien” he transported. Court documents allege he identified Luna as the “foot guide” or smuggler of the group.
Luna allegedly told agents he was hired by a smuggler in Mexico to take migrants across the border and that the group was to be taken to Rivera’s house to await further instructions from the smuggling organization. Luna allegedly said Zuniga also was a migrant “foot guide,” and authorities arrested them both.
Luna and Zuniga have previously been removed from the United States for unlawful entry.
A federal grand jury in El Paso indicted the three suspects on Jan. 15 on charges of conspiracy and transportation of illegal aliens for profit.
Records show Rivera, Luna and Zuniga waived an arraignment scheduled for Jan. 23 and pleaded not guilty to the charges on Jan. 16.
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