Another Border Patrol ‘Top 10’ Smuggler Busted

A program targeting the top 10 human smugglers in the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector yielded another arrest.

The program, called “Se Busca Informacion,” is designed to take some of the most active human smugglers in the region off the streets. It works through the Border Patrol’s placement of billboards and flyers around the area with the faces of the sector’s top ten most wanted human smugglers.

On Monday, the program yielded yet another arrest. Following a tip from a citizen who recognized a suspect from the billboards placed around the Rio Grande Valley, contacted the San Juan Police Department and identified the man in the number six position. That man, Juan Fidel Velasquez-Alvarado, was arrested after the San Juan police forwarded the tip to Border Patrol agents.

The agents quickly found the man and he was arrested without incident, according to a statement provided to Breitbart Texas by Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Marlene Castro, public information officer for the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

“This is a great example of how collaboration with our law enforcement partners and concerned members of our community assisted in putting a smuggler behind bars,” Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. stated in the written statement.

Breitbart Texas reported in June about the Se Busca Informacion program and its successes. “Border Patrol officials are looking to expose the cruel human smugglers believed to behind many of the abuses that illegal immigrants go through,” Breitbart Texas previously reported. “They are making it personal by posting their photos.”

Jose Guadalupe Valerio Lavansate was one of the alleged human smugglers who was arrested in June.  “Instead of focusing on high profile criminals or masterminds who are often times rather cautious about being seen,” Breitbart Texas explained, “the strategy is aimed at exposing the individuals who are tied directly with the daily operations of the human smuggling organization.” As of the June article, four suspected smugglers had been taken off the streets as a result of the program.

The program has also led to successful raids on numerous human stash houses in the Rio Grande Valley where dozens of illegal immigrants have been rescued from what the Border Patrol called “deplorable conditions.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.