A trio of U.S. Army soldiers have been charged in connection with an illegal alien smuggling operation they were allegedly running.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced charges on Wednesday against three service members stationed at Fort Cavazos.
On Nov. 27, a U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agent pulled over a suspicious vehicle in Presidio, TX.
As the agent approached the car, the driver sped off, striking another USBP vehicle and injuring an agent inside, according to court documents.
Local law enforcement eventually stopped the vehicle and apprehended four individuals. A fifth fled on foot.
Three of the passengers were found to be illegal aliens from Mexico and Guatemala, while the fourth was identified as Emilio Mendoza Lopez.
The suspect who escaped, identified as Angel Palma, was located the following day at a hotel in Odessa, TX.
“Mendoza Lopez and Palma allegedly traveled from Fort Cavazos to Presidio for the purpose of picking up and transporting undocumented noncitizens,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office explained in a press release.
“A third individual, Enrique Jauregui, is alleged to be the recruiter and facilitator of the human smuggling conspiracy. Data extracted from Palma’s phone through a search warrant revealed messages between the three soldiers indicating collaboration in the smuggling operation.”
Mendoza Lopez is facing one count of bringing in and harboring aliens.
Palma and Jauregui have been charged in a separate criminal complaint with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens and one count of assaulting a federal agent.
An investigation is ongoing.
In April, a member of the Texas military was arrested for smuggling an illegal alien in a government vehicle in Kinney County, TX.
This article was originally published at InfoWars.com
