LAREDO, Texas—A self-confessed human smuggler told authorities that in the past they have arrested him but released him after he gave a false name and claimed to be underage.
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Carlos Alejandro Monroy Hernandez and his associate Uriel Alberto Gomez Gutierrez over the weekend in this border city, court records obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed.
The arrest took place when agents tracked down and arrested a group of seven suspected illegal aliens near the area known as McHendricks Ranch. Authorities describe that rural area as a known human smuggling corridor in the porous border area of Laredo.
After the arrest, Border Patrol agents turned the two men over to agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who carried out some interviews with them.
It was during the interviews that agents learned that Monroy Hernandez had a clear criminal history under his name. Under a fake name he had been arrested before by Border Patrol agents in July when they caught him with six illegal immigrants. In that case, Monroy Hernandez was identified as the foot guide but was turned over to juvenile authorities. It was under custody of juvenile authorities that the suspect confirm that he was in fact an adult and had lied about his age to avoid prosecution.
The ploy appears to have worked, since the criminal complaint shows that that his criminal record was clear and he had not been sentenced for other crimes.
When HSI agents interviewed Gomez, the man claimed to be just part of the group and placed the blame entirely on Monroy. Other immigrants questioned by agents said that they had just crossed from Nuevo Laredo, and in fact both Gomez and Monroy were the guides. This time, authorities charged both men with human smuggling charges
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.