Los Zetas Cartel Member Caught Entering Texas Illegally

McALLEN, Texas — A self-confessed Los Zetas cartel member is now in federal custody after authorities caught him entering the country illegally.

The arrest took place Saturday on at 8:20 a.m. near the border city of Roma, just north of Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, information provided to Breitbart Texas by the U.S. Border Patrol revealed.

Authorities arrested an illegal alien from Mexico who had tried to enter the country illegally. While interviewing him the man claimed to be a member of the Los Zetas drug cartel. Authorities turned him over for prosecution and deportation, his name was not readily available.

Cartel members crossing illegally into the country is common occurrence along communities on the Texas border. Earlier this month, Breitbart Texas reported on the arrest of five members of the Gulf Cartel who had also crossed into Roma from Miguel Aleman. Those cartel members were taken before a federal judge to face misdemeanor immigration charges and then four of them were given an average of 15 days in jail before facing deportation. Only one of the cartel members was charged under a felony count of illegal re-entry. His case is still pending. 

The cartel members were said to be fleeing from their rivals in Mexico when they crossed.

In recent years, the arrests of high ranking drug cartel figures in Texas have become a regular occurrence. In Rio Grande City, just East of Roma, authorities arrested Benicio “Comandante Veneno” Lopez  and Orlando Roberto “Comandante Boris” Rodriguez in two separate cases. Both men are considered to be key figures within the Gulf Cartel. Lopez had been living in Texas where he has racked up a long criminal history that includes murder and other charges. The murder charge is connected with a violent raid by a team of cartel gunmen in Texas.

In Hidalgo County, the area that includes McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, and Mission, authorities have arrested the regional cartel commanders known as Juan “Panochitas” Saenz Tamez, and Francisco “Comandante Paquito” Martinez.

Both cartel commanders were arrested in Texas where they had also been hiding from their rivals. Saenz had been hiding in the border city of Edinburg, while Martinez was arrested by the Law Enforcement Emergency Regional Response Team in rural Mission.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award winning journalist with Breitbart Texas you can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.