Cartel Smuggler Assaulted Texas Border Town Homeowner, Stole Car



by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ and BRANDON DARBY 3 Dec 2021

A cartel-connected human smuggler fleeing from authorities broke into a home, assaulted the owner, and stole her vehicle. Authorities managed to detain five migrants at the property but the smuggler managed to escape, Texas authorities revealed.

The case took place late last month in Edwards County, northeast of Del Rio; a border city that has become a human smuggling hub. Authorities are still working to capture the smuggler.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Chris Olivarez revealed to Breitbart Texas that the agency has seen a dramatic trend in reckless and violent tactics by cartel-connected smugglers. Breitbart Texas spoke with Olivarez during a briefing about Operation Lone Star.

Year-to-date, Texas DPS Troopers working in border counties have seen 1,008 vehicles pursuits. The figure does not include the high-speed chases by federal or local agencies, Olivarez said.

The chases routinely start when a trooper tries to pull over a driver for some type of traffic infraction.

“They are a danger to the motoring public,” Olivarez said.

This week, a female smuggler fled authorities and drove toward a U.S.-Mexico port of entry in Roma, Texas. As the woman neared the border, a group of migrants got out of the vehicle, and then she sped through the toll booth and through a barrier. Hours later, she returned to Texas where authorities arrested and charged her, Olivarez said. The woman had a criminal history related to human smuggling.

In many cases, human smugglers crash into other vehicles or structures, resulting in fatalities. According to Olivarez, on November 25, a Texas State Trooper tried to pull over the driver of a Ford F-150 with 12 people inside, near La Joya. The driver tried to escape but lost control, rolling over and killing two migrants. The driver and nine other migrants sustained injuries.

Cartel Smuggler Assaulted Texas Border Town Homeowner, Stole Car (breitbart.com)