A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested a Venezuelan migrant for allegedly smuggling a group of 28 migrants, including a juvenile into the interior of Texas. Dashcam video provided by DPS shows a high-speed pursuit in the overloaded van where the Venezuelan man attempted to avoid apprehension.
A Texas DPS trooper attempted to stop a white van on the night of January 25 on U.S. Highway 57 in Zavala County, according to a statement from DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez. The driver, later identified by DPS as an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, refused to stop and led the trooper on a high-speed pursuit.
The driver eventually drove his van off the roadway and attempted to flee on foot. Troopers captured the driver and identified him as Vicente Perez-Briseno — a Venezuelan migrant illegally present in the United States.
The video shows the 28 migrants packed like cordwood in the rear of the van. The overloaded van makes the vehicle difficult to control or stop and creates a tremendous risk to the migrants and to other drivers on the roadway.
In October 2022, a human smuggler crashed an overloaded pickup truck during a police pursuit. The crash resulted in the deaths of two migrants and injury to 12 others, Breitbart Texas reported.
In August 2021, another human smuggler crashed an overloaded van while attempting to make a right-hand turn. The driver was not being pursued at the time of the crash but simply could not control the overloaded van. The crash led to the deaths of at least ten migrants and left 20 others injured.
The video above shows the 28 migrants being removed from the van. Border Patrol agents arrived and conducted immigration interviews leading to the identification of the migrants as citizens of Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico.
Lt. Olivarez reported the van carried 22 males, five females, and a 14-year-old juvenile.
Perez-Briseno now faces state charges of smuggling of persons and smuggling of persons under the age of 18. He could also face state charges for failing to yield and attempting to flee on foot.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX